Out of the six teams that missed the IPL 2026 playoffs, five are dealing with big captaincy questions. It’s not hard to see why. Four teams haven’t made the playoffs for two straight years in this three-year IPL cycle. Another team fell off a cliff—nearly reaching the final in 2025, then almost finishing last in 2026. Here’s a look at those five captains who are now under serious scrutiny.
Rishabh Pant – Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
LSG spent a jaw-dropping Rs 27 crore to sign Pant, making him the costliest player in IPL history. Nobody saw the team crumbling like this. After finishing seventh in 2025, they hit rock bottom in 2026. Naturally, everyone’s questioning Pant’s captaincy.
LSG’s Global Director of Cricket, Tom Moody, admitted they need a reset:
“From a captaincy point of view, he’s found it challenging. Leadership is something we’ll reflect on very seriously. We’ll make considered decisions, and it really looks like a reset is needed,” Moody said.
Pant’s massive salary chews up nearly a fifth of LSG’s budget—and he’s already stepped down as captain. But honestly, his entire future at LSG is on shaky ground.
Hardik Pandya – Mumbai Indians (MI)
Hardik Pandya became public enemy number one at Wankhede after he replaced Rohit Sharma as captain ahead of IPL 2024. In 2025, some of the crowd warmed up again, thanks to India’s T20 World Cup win and MI’s playoff run. But now, things seem to be falling apart.
MI has tons of leaders—past and present Indian captains—but Hardik hasn’t really made the captaincy his own. In IPL 2026, Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah got the armband in a few games, with Hardik missing four matches.
MI finished dead last in 2024 during Hardik’s first year, and they narrowly avoided it again in 2026 because of net-run-rate. The franchise desperately wants to return to winning ways in 2027, and a lot of experts are betting Hardik could be out soon.
Ruturaj Gaikwad – Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
CSK fans are watching their worst stretch ever. Under Dhoni, playoff appearances were routine. After winning titles in 2021 and 2023, those glory days feel far away.
Gaikwad took over from Dhoni before IPL 2024, but CSK missed the playoffs for three straight seasons. Nobody thought filling Dhoni’s shoes would be easy, but three years without playoffs wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card.
To make things tougher, Gaikwad’s batting has slumped. He scored just 337 runs in 2026 and had the lowest powerplay strike-rate of any batter in the tournament. With Sanju Samson now part of CSK, the franchise has to answer a tough question: is it time to change captains?
Ajinkya Rahane – Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Rahane’s Test captaincy legacy is legendary, but his IPL record is rough. During IPL 2026, he actually became the captain with the lowest win percentage among those with 30+ games.
Like Gaikwad, Rahane’s lack of form with the bat raises doubts about his leadership. Despite trying to reinvent his T20 game, his strike-rate dropped to 135 in 2026.
After celebrating an IPL title in 2024, KKR flopped in 2025 and 2026, finishing eighth and seventh. Rahane turns 38 soon, so KKR really needs to think long-term about captaincy. Will they make the change right away for 2027? That’s a headache KKR has to solve soon.
Axar Patel – Delhi Capitals (DC)
DC keeps promising, then falling short. Under Axar, they won their first four games in 2025 but missed the playoffs. In 2026, they started with two wins and then found themselves lost.
A big problem for Axar has been vague team selections. The batting order keeps changing, and some Indian bowlers just haven’t delivered.
DC’s thinktank will probably change next year—JSW Group is taking over. Their call on captaincy will be interesting. Does Axar get another shot? Is KL Rahul back in charge? Or will a fresh face be brought in for big money? We’ll find out soon.
