The Indian Premier League’s 19th edition (IPL 2026) is heading towards its business end, and rumors are floating that three of the franchise captains might not survive the upcoming IPL bloodbath. These three captains are set to be sacked after underwhelming performances by their teams in the IPL 2026.
It appears the moment of truth has arrived for the struggling trio of Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, and Rishabh Pant. Axar Patel captains Delhi Capitals, Ajinkya Rahane captains Kolkata Knight Riders, and Rishabh Pant is the captain of Lucknow Super Giants.
Although DC and KKR are still mathematically alive, it seems inevitable that they will be eliminated as well. Pants' LSG was the first team to be eliminated from the tournament.
“Three IPL captains are in the line of fire due to campaigns that have been nothing short of disastrous, and they could end up losing their jobs when the season winds up later this month," sources tracking developments in various franchises have indicated. Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, and Rishabh Pant have captained for two successive seasons and failed miserably in their bid to take their respective teams into the playoffs,” the PTI report stated.
Rishabh Pant has not only underperformed as the captain of LSG, but with 251 runs from 11 matches, his struggles with the bat in IPL 2025 have continued as well. Bought for INR 27 crores in the IPL 2025 auction, Rishabh Pant is the most expensive player in IPL history, and it seems like the price tag has become a burden for the keeper-batter.
“In Pant's case, it is an open secret in franchise cricket that captaincy doesn't sit well with him. Pants has tried batting at different positions, but it has often seemed that he is carrying a thousand-ton burden on his shoulders. In a franchise ecosystem where instant results are the norm, failing to qualify for two successive seasons is unlikely to go down well,” the report stated.
Axar Patel is struggling to come to terms with captaincy despite this being his second season at the helm for Delhi Capitals. He has had a poor IPL with the bat and has done decently with the ball, but his reactive captaincy and some bizarre decisions have hurt the Delhi franchise.
“In 12 games, Axar has bowled only 36 overs, exactly three overs per game, and picked up 10 wickets at an economy rate of 8.08. While the economy rate looks respectable considering the punishment endured by fellow spinner Kuldeep Yadav, Axar has often under-bowled himself. With Delhi Capitals having an arrangement of equal owners—JSW and GMR split management responsibilities in alternate cycles—next season will see Parth Jindal and JSW taking charge of cricket operations,” the report added.
“The decisions to ignore a flamboyant batter like Abhishek Porel, not using an all-rounder like Madhav Tiwari consistently, and throwing an out-of-sync youngster like Sahil Parakh into the deep end expecting him to do a Vaibhav Suryavanshi have not gone unnoticed. Parakh undoubtedly has talent but remains a work in progress.
With mega auctions slated for 2027, Axar as a player could still be retained, but there has been little evidence of dynamic leadership so far. As decision-making powers shift from GMR to JSW, Axar's future as leader certainly isn't cast in stone,” the report added.
KKR’s decision to buy Ajinkya Rahane and name him captain of the team for IPL 2026 was always an afterthought. The 37-year-old is not a T20 giant and became captain as KKR forgot to buy someone who could lead them. They went winless in their first six games, and though they have managed a few wins, their chances of qualifying for the playoffs are near zero.
“Rahane's appointment at KKR was largely a classic TINA (There Is No Alternative) case, as the franchise lacked credible leadership options. It also helped that his former Mumbai teammate Abhishek Nayar was at the helm as head coach. However, KKR was hamstrung by the fact that Rahane and Nayar's protégé Angkrish Raghuvanshi could not match the pace demanded from top-order batters in modern T20 cricket,” said the report.
(PTI inputs)
