Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni hold successful captaincy records:10 Indians to lead in IPL for first time; 6 captains eye maiden trophy

For the first time in IPL’s 19-year history, all 10 teams will have Indian captains. After regular captain Pat Cummins’ absence from initial matches, Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise has handed over captaincy to Ishan Kishan. With this, all teams will be led by Indian players in the tournament’s opening matches. In the last season too, except for Hyderabad’s Pat Cummins, all other teams had Indian captains. Ishan Kishan to lead SRH for the first time in IPL
Ishan Kishan will be seen captaining in IPL for the first time. Among the current 10 captains, 6 are searching for their first trophy. These include Ruturaj Gaikwad, Riyan Parag, Shubman Gill, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant. Meanwhile, the other 4 captains have already won titles. Shreyas Iyer led Kolkata Knight Riders to championship in 2024, Rajat Patidar won the title for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2025, while Hardik Pandya won the trophy with Gujarat Titans in 2022. Also read: Sanju Samson X-factor, MS Dhoni’s last IPL season?:CSK SWOT analysis; Yellow Army’s big gamble on Prashant Veer, Kartik Sharma Shreyas Iyer is the only captain who took three franchises to the final
Shreyas Iyer is the only captain in IPL history who has taken three different franchises to the finals. In 2020, he took Delhi Capitals to the final, where the team lost to Mumbai Indians. After that, in 2024, he made KKR champions, and in 2025, he took Punjab Kings to the final, where the team lost to RCB. Dhoni, Rohit are the most successful captains
When it comes to the most successful captains in IPL history, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (CSK) and Rohit Sharma (MI) are at the top. Both have made their teams champions 5 times each. Dhoni holds the record for most matches (229) and wins (134), while Rohit has led Mumbai Indians to five titles. Also read: ‘Thala and Chetta’, reactions pour in on Dhoni, Samson’s union: Wholesome video shared by CSK goes viral ahead of IPL 2026 | WATCH However, Gautam Gambhir stands at the third position as a skipper who led Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL championship for two tmes in the history in 2012 and 2014. He also records third trophy as the head coach of KKR in 2024. Team India head coach has featured in 154 matches in IPL history.