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IPL 2026: Who passed and who failed? See the report card of all the captains in 22 matches

Samira Vishwas | April 15, 2026 9:24 AM CST

The excitement of the Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026) is at its peak right now. So far 22 matches have been played and the real test of captains on the field has begun. This time IPL is also special because the command of all the teams is in the hands of Indian players. In such a situation, it becomes even more interesting to see how the captain is performing on the field. Some captains have stepped forward and led the team brilliantly, while some big names are still seen struggling to find their form.

Based on data analysis, on one hand the captains priced at Rs 26-27 crore are under pressure to justify their hefty price tag, while on the other hand the lower priced captains have surprised everyone with their performance.

team name	total matches	Victory	captain	individual performance	Price (₹ Crore)
Lucknow Super Giants	4	2	Rishabh Pant	103 runs, 1 half century	27
punjab kings	4	3	Shreyas Iyer	137 runs, 2 half centuries	26.75
Chennai Super Kings	5	2	Ruturaj Gaikwad	63 runs	18
Delhi Capitals	4	2	Akshar Patel	3 wickets and 3 runs	16.5
Gujarat Titans	4	2	Shubhman Gill	165 runs, 2 half centuries	16.5
Mumbai Indians	4	1	hardik pandya	2 wickets and 67 runs	16.35
Rajasthan Royals	5	4	Riyan Parag	2 wickets and 49 runs	14
Sunrisers Hyderabad	5	2	Ishan Kishan	213 runs, 2 half centuries	11.25
Royal Challengers Bangalore	4	3	Rajat Patidar	195 runs, 2 half centuries	11
Kolkata Knight Riders	5	0	Ajinkya Rahane	152 runs, 1 half century	1.5

Shreyas and Rishabh’s test

This season, all eyes were on Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shreyas Iyer and Lucknow Super Giants’ Rishabh Pant. Shreyas Iyer has kept Punjab in a great position with 3 wins in 4 matches and has proved his worth by scoring 137 runs with 2 half-centuries. On the other hand, under the captaincy of Rishabh Pant, Lucknow has won 2 out of 4 matches. Pant has scored 103 runs with his bat but considering the price of Rs 27 crore, fans are expecting ‘match winning’ innings from him.

These captains have better records

Rajasthan Royals K Riyan Parag has shown the most impressive captaincy by winning 4 out of 5 matches. Even though his individual performance (49 runs, 2 wickets) may not be very big, his strategy has been effective in helping the team win.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Rajat Patidar of Punjab Kings (195 runs, 2 half-centuries) and Shreyas Iyer of Punjab Kings (137 runs, 2 half-centuries) have also shown balance in both captaincy and batting.
Sunrisers Hyderabad India’s Ishan Kishan (213 runs) and Gujarat Titans’ Shubhman Gill (165 runs) also lead the way in individual performances, although the team results have been a bit mixed.

average performing captain

Delhi Capitals The performance of Axar Patel (3 wickets, 3 runs) and Rishabh Pant (103 runs) of Lucknow Super Giants has been average. Both the teams have won 2-2 matches but the individual contribution of the captains seems limited.
Mumbai Indians K Hardik Pandya (67 runs, 2 wickets) has given an all-round performance but has been able to give only 1 win to the team.

This captain was a flop captain

Chennai Super Kings K Ruturaj Gaikwad (63 runs) has also been seen struggling with just 2 wins in 5 matches.
Kolkata Knight Riders K Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy has been the weakest so far. The team has not been able to register a single win in 5 matches, although they have scored 152 runs and one half-century.