The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 blends a mix of fresh and experienced captains leading the 10 franchises for the forthcoming 18th season starting from March 22 (Saturday) onwards.
A few notable appointments in recent times include Axar Patel for Delhi Capitals (DC), Ajinkya Rahane for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and Rajat Patidar for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) signed the league’s most expensive players each to lead their squad in the upcoming edition IPL 2025. However, teams such as Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Mumbai Indians (MI), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Rajasthan Royals (RR), and Gujarat Titans (GT) have retained their previous year’s skippers.
Ahead of IPL 2025, let’s take a look at the captains of all IPL teams and their captaincy records that highlight their success rate in the 20-over format.
1. Chennai Super Kings (CSK):
Ruturaj Gaikwad after taking over the captaincy from MS Dhoni in the previous season, retains his leadership role in Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
- Captain: Ruturaj Gaikwad
- Nationality: Indian
- Role: Right-Handed Batter
- Age: 28 years
- Overall IPL matches played: 66
- Matches played as IPL Captain (2024): 14
- Wins: 7
- Losses:7
- Tied: 0
- Winning Percentage: 50%
2. Mumbai Indians (MI):
Despite a lackluster season, Hardik Pandya continues as the Mumbai Indians (MI) captain, aiming to clinch the 6th title for the team under his captaincy.
- Captain: Hardik Pandya
- Nationality: Indian
- Role: All-rounder (Right-Handed Batter and Right Arm Medium Pacer)
- Age: 31 years
- Overall IPL matches played: 137
- Matches played as IPL Captain (2022 to 2024): 45
- Wins: 26
- Losses:19
- Tied: 0
- Winning Percentage: 73%
3. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH):
Pat Cummins solidified his helm after guiding Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) till the previous season’s final.
- Captain: Pat Cummins
- Nationality: Australian
- Role: Right-Arm Pacer
- Age: 31 years
- Overall IPL matches played: 58
- Matches played as IPL Captain (2024): 14
- Wins: 8
- Losses: 5
- Tied: 0
- No Result: 1
- Winning Percentage: 57.14%
4. Rajasthan Royals (RR):
Sanju Samson has been the core part of Rajasthan Royals (RR) since 2018 and continues to lead the franchise. The inaugural season champions under his leadership aim to claim their second IPL title.
- Captain: Sanju Samson
- Nationality: Indian
- Role: Right-handed batter and Wicketkeeper
- Age: 30 years
- Overall IPL matches played: 167
- Matches played as IPL Captain (2021 to 2024): 61
- Wins: 31
- Losses: 29
- Tied: 1
- No Result: 0
- Winning Percentage: 50.81%
5. Gujarat Titans (GT):
Shubman Gill has a huge challenge to improve the performance ofthe Gujarat Titans (GT) this season, as the team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time under his captaincy in IPL 2024.
- Captain: Shubman Gill
- Nationality: Indian
- Role: Right-Handed Batter
- Age: 25 years
- Overall IPL matches played: 103
- Matches played as IPL Captain (2024): 14
- Wins: 5
- Losses:7
- Tied: 0
- Winning Percentage: 35.71%
6. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG):
Following a record-breaking deal of INR 27 crore in the 2025 mega auction, Rishabh Pant is set to lead the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and strives to add dynamism to the squad.
- Captain: Rishabh Pant
- Nationality: Indian
- Role: Left-handed batter and Wicketkeeper
- Age: 27 years
- Overall IPL matches played: 111
- Matches played as IPL Captain (2021 to 2024): 43
- Wins: 23
- Losses: 19
- Tied: 1
- Winning Percentage: 53.48%
7. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB):
Rajat Patidar has been appointed as the new captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for the forthcoming edition after taking over the captaincy role from Faf du Plessis, who parted ways with the franchise ahead of the mega auction.
- Captain: Rajat Patidar
- Nationality: Indian
- Role: Right-Handed Batter
- Age: 31 years
- Overall IPL matches played: 27
- Matches played as IPL Captain: To Be Played
- Wins: N/A
- Losses: N/A
- Tied: N/A
- Winning Percentage: N/A
8. Delhi Capitals (DC):
Axar Patel for the first time becomes the full-time IPL captain and aims to lead Delhi Capitals (DC) this IPL 2025 with his all-round performance and several years of experience. In the earlier season, he led Delhi as the stand-in skipper to fulfill Rishabh Pant’s absence. However, the team in a must-win game lost to RCB by 47 runs and faced an exit from the tournament.
- Captain: Axar Patel
- Nationality: Indian
- Role: All-Rounder (Left Handed batter and Left Arm Orthodox Spinner)
- Age: 31 years
- Overall IPL matches played: 150
- Matches played as IPL Captain (2024): 1
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 1
- Tied: 0
- Winning Percentage: 0
9. Punjab Kings (PBKS):
Shreyas Iyer, the second-costliest player in the league after Pant, is expected to combine his recent form and leadership skills to lead Punjab Kings (PBKS) to its maiden IPL title.
- Captain: Shreyas Iyer
- Nationality: Indian
- Role: Right-Handed Batter
- Age: 30 years
- Overall IPL matches played: 115
- Matches played as IPL Captain (2024): 70
- Wins: 38
- Losses: 29
- Tied: 2
- Winning Percentage: 54.28%
10. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR):
Despite Ajinkya Rahane having previous IPL captaincy experience, his team strained to perform consistently, and a new challenge is ahead of him as the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to inject immense strength and experience into the defending champions squad.
The right-handed batter earlier led Rising Pune Supergiants (RPSG) in a solo game in 2017 and captained Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 2018 and 2019 editions.
- Captain: Ajinkya Rahane
- Nationality: Indian
- Role: Right-Handed Batter
- Age: 36 years
- Overall IPL matches played: 185
- Matches played as IPL Captain (2017 to 2019): 25
- Wins: 9
- Losses: 16
- Tied: 0
- Winning Percentage: 36%