Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the most iconic cricket leagues in the world. The IPL has consistently broken viewership records, and just last season, it recorded an all-time high record of 35 crore in its first 10 matches. The league is the second most popular league in the world after the English Premier League, and it might surpass it this year as the 2025 season holds a lot of significance with major and exciting changes.
One of these iconic changes is the change in the captain lineup of the IPL, and as we approach the craziness of the tournament, let’s take a look at the captains of each team.
Ruturaj Gaikwad (Chennai Super Kings)
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Ruturaj Gaikwad was named the captain of the team ahead of the 2024 season. He’s had great shoes to fill as the previous captain, MS Dhoni, led CSK to five IPL titles. In his debut season as captain, he maintained good form and led the team to the semi-finals, and he also became the first CSK captain to score a century. Even though MS Dhoni continues to mentor him in decision-making, he has great potential, and it will be interesting to see whether he can take the team to the trophy this year.
Hardik Pandya (Mumbai Indians)
Hardik Pandya was appointed as the captain of Mumbai Indias in 2024 after Rohit Sharma stepped down from the position. The decision was met with backlash by the fans as the team suffered a loss and finished at the bottom of the points table. This season will be his chance at redemption, so we might get to see MI in its usual form in IPL 2025.
Ajinkya Rahane (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Ajinkya Rahane will make his debut as the captain for KKR in the 2025 season as Shreyas Iyer, who led the team to their third title in IPL 2024, moved to the Punjab Kings. Rahane had previously captained the Indian team in Test cricket, leading the team to victory. He also has experience in IPL captaincy as he served as the captain of the Rajasthan Royals and the Pune Super Giants. His goal will be to defend KKR’s title, so we can expect to see some out-of-the-box strategies by Rahane.
Shubman Gill (Gujarat Titans)
Shubhman Gill succeeded Hardik Pandya as he moved to Mumbai Indians in 2024 and became the captain of Gujrat Giants. He has shown promising tactical decisions like trusting young players and rotating bowlers according to the needs of the game. This year, we might get to see GT performing well under his captaincy despite their average performance in the last season.
Pat Cummins (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
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Pat Cummins was made the captain in the 2024 season, where he led the team to dominate the top of the leaderboards. The team finished in the second position in the IPL 2024, so this season might be their chance to get their second title after a long gap of nine years.
Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals)
Sanju Samson has been the captain of Rajasthan Royals since 2021, and he has done a pretty decent job till now. Under his leadership, the team qualified for the playoffs twice, in 2022 and 2024. He’s also well aware of the team dynamics, so this season, he might lead the team to victory.
Axar Patel (Delhi Capitals)
In a long-overdue decision by the team, Axar Patel took the edge over KL Rahul to become the captain of the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2025. Axar Patel has captained his domestic team, Gujrat, across all formats of cricket; he also served as a temporary captain for the Delhi Capitals while Rishab Pant was serving a ban. He was also named the vice-captain of the national T20I team, and this IPL season will be his first as a permanent captain.
Shreyas Iyer (Punjab Kings)
Shreyas Iyer was appointed as the captain of PBKS in 2025 and has a proven track record as a captain. He led his previous team DC to the final in the 202 season and led KKR to their third title in 2024. This is seen as a strategic decision by PBKS so that this season might mark their first title in the IPL.
Rajat Patidar (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Rajat Patidar has been named the captain of RCB in 2025, and this decision marks a new direction for the team. Patidar has had a significant run in the series. He debuted in the IPL in 2021 and has had a lot of record-breaking moments. He scored the joint-fastest century in the playoffs stage and has a great record of 799 runs in 27 IPL matches. His captaincy might lead RCB to its first IPL title.
Rishab Pant (Lucknow Super Giants)
Rishab Pant was made the captain of the LSG in 2025 after the team acquired him for a record-breaking cost of 27 crore INR. He had previously proved his captaincy for DC in the 2021 and 2024 seasons. He has vowed to give his “200%” to the team and will look for a title win this upcoming IPL season.
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