In IPL 2025, five franchises have announced new captains. RCB has appointed Rajat Patidar as their skipper, while LSG will be led by Rishabh Pant. At Delhi Capitals, Axar Patel will replace Rishabh Pant as captain. Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane will lead defending champions KKR, and Shreyas Iyer, who guided KKR to the title last year, has been named the new captain of Punjab Kings.
Rahane and Iyer to Lead Their 3rd IPL Franchise
With this, Rahane and Iyer are set to join an elite list that previously featured only three players. In IPL 2025, both will be leading their third IPL team, joining Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, and Steve Smith, who have also captained three different franchises in the tournament.
To date, no player has captained more than three teams in IPL history. Notably, legendary captains MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma are not part of this list. Dhoni has led only two teams—Chennai Super Kings and Rising Pune Supergiants—while Rohit Sharma has captained only Mumbai Indians in his IPL career.
Talking about Ajinkya Rahane, he has previously captained Rajasthan Royals and Rising Pune Supergiant, and now, in IPL 2025, he will take charge of Kolkata Knight Riders. Ajinkya Rahane had a remarkable captaincy run with the Mumbai team in the 2024-25 domestic season. Under his leadership, Mumbai clinched the SMAT T20 title. In the Ranji Trophy as well, Rahane led Mumbai to the semi-finals.
On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer has had an impressive captaincy career in the Indian Premier League. He has been part of three IPL franchises so far, and he has led all of them. In IPL 2020, he guided Delhi Capitals to their first-ever final, and in 2024, he led KKR to the title. Now, he is set to embark on a successful stint with Punjab Kings.
