In cricket, a captain is a player who leads the team and has additional roles and responsibilities. The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket in India, which has been held annually since its first edition in 2008.
In the 19 seasons played till 2026, 75 players have captained their team in at least one match. Mumbai Indians' Rohit Sharma and Chennai Super Kings's MS Dhoni are the most successful captains with five IPL titles each. Dhoni also holds the records for most matches (229) and most wins (134) as a captain. Shreyas Iyer, Mahela Jayawardene, Ajinkya Rahane, Kumar Sangakkara, and Steven Smith are the only players to have captained three different teams, with Shreyas Iyer being the only captain to have led three different sides to the finals of the IPL. Kolkata Knight Riders is the only team to have won IPL with different captains.
Key
+ Symbol MeaningFirstYear of the first IPL match as a captainLastYear of latest IPL match as a captainMatchesNumber of matches as a captainTeam(s)Team(s) for which the player has played as captain in at least one matchWonNumber of games wonLostNumber of games lostTiedNumber of games tiedNRNumber of games with no resultWin%The percentage of games won by that captainPlayers who captained their sides in the 2026 season
Captains The list includes those players who have captained an IPL team in at least one IPL match. The list is organised by the number of matches as a captain and if the numbers are tied, the list is sorted by the date of first match as captain.
+Indian Premier League captains Player Nationality First Last Matches Team(s) Won Lost Tied NR Win% Titles MS Dhoni 2008 2025 235 CSKRPS 136 97 0 2 57.87 5Rohit Sharma 2013 2023 158 MI 87 67 4 0 55.06 5Virat Kohli 2011 2023 143 RCB 66 70 3 4 46.15 Gautam Gambhir 2009 2018 129 DCKKR 71 57 1 0 55.03 2 Shreyas Iyer 2018 2026 101 DCKKRPBKS 55 41 2 3 54.45 1 2013 2023 83 DCSRH 40 41 2 0 48.19 1 2008 2013 74 DCHKXIP 35 39 0 0 47.29 1 2021 2026 71 DCLSG 33 36 2 0 46.47 2022 2026 70 GTMI 37 33 0 0 52.85 1 2021 2025 67 RR 33 32 1 1 49.25 2020 2023 64 PBKSLSG 31 31 2 0 48.43 2008 2011 55RR 30 24 1 0 54.551 2008 2015 53 DCKXIP 28 24 1 0 52.83 2017 2026 52 KKRRRRPS 19 30 1 2 36.53 2008 2011 51 MI 30 21 0 0 58.82 2008 2013 48 RRRCB 22 26 0 0 45.83 2010 2013 47 KXIPDCHSRH 15 30 2 0 31.91 2018 2022 46 SRH 22 23 1 0 47.83 2022 2025 44 DCRCB 22 22 0 0 50.00 2010 2020 43 DCKKR 21 21 1 0 48.83 2024 2026 43 GT 24 19 0 0 55.81 2012 2020 43 PWIRPSRR 25 17 0 1 58.13 2008 2011 43 KXIPPWI 21 21 0 1 48.83 2008 2012 42 KKRPWI 17 25 0 0 40.47 2024 2026 38 SRH 20 17 0 1 52.63 2010 2019 34 CSKGL 14 18 2 0 41.17 2024 2026 33 CSK 14 19 0 0 42.42 2014 2015 30 KXIP 14 16 0 0 46.67 2010 2013 30 KXIPKTKDC 10 19 1 0 33.33 2025 2026 28 RCB 20 8 0 0 71.42 2 2018 2019 28 KXIP12 16 0 042.85 2024 2026 27 DC 12 13 1 1 44.44 2014 2024 27 SRHPBKS 10 17 0 0 37.03 2009 2010 26 RCB15 11 0 0 57.69 2020 2021 24 KKR 11 12 1 0 45.83 2008 2017 24 RRRCB 8 13 2 1 33.33 2016 2017 23 DC 10 13 0 0 43.47 2011 2012 22 RCB 12 10 0 0 54.54 2025 2026 22 RR 10 12 0 0 45.45 2008 2012 20 MI 10 10 0 0 50.00 2009 2014 17 DCRCB3 14 0 0 17.64 2015 2016 16 DC 6 9 0 1 37.5 2021 2022 14 PBKS 7 7 0 0 50.00 2017 2017 14 KXIP 7 7 0 0 50.00 2023 2023 14 KKR 6 8 0 0 42.85 2009 2016 14 KKRGL 3 10 1 0 21.42 2023 2023 13 SRH 4 9 0 0 30.76 2011 2013 12 DCHSRH 7 5 0 0 58.33 2012 2013 12 KXIP 6 6 0 0 50.00 2023 2024 11 PBKS 5 6 0 0 45.45 2013 2013 10 PWI 2 8 0 0 20.00 2016 2016 8 KXIP 3 5 0 0 37.50 2019 2023 8 SRH 2 6 0 0 25.00 2022 2022 8 CSK 2 6 0 0 25.00 2026 2026 7 SRH 4 3 0 0 57.14 2019 2021 6 MI 4 2 0 0 66.66 2023 2023 6 LSG 3 2 0 1 50.00 2016 2016 6 KXIP 1 5 0 0 16.66 2008 2008 6 DCH 1 5 0 0 16.66 2013 2013 6 MI 3 3 0 0 50.00 2023 2026 5 MI 2 3 0 0 40.00 2013 2013 5 PWI 1 4 0 0 20.00 2008 2008 4 MI 3 1 0 0 75.00 2024 2026 4 PBKSRCB 2 2 0 0 50.00 2014 2014 4 SRH 2 2 0 0 50.00 2017 2017 3 DC 2 1 0 0 66.66 2022 2026 3 GT 1 2 0 0 33.33 2011 2011 3 DC 0 2 0 1 0.00 2026 2026 2 RR 1 1 0 0 50.00 2026 2026 1 MI 1 0 0 0 100.00 2024 2024 1 LSG 1 0 0 0 100.00 2013 2013 1 PWI 1 0 0 0 100.00 2010 2010 1 MI 0 1 0 0 0.00 2021 2021 1 SRH 0 1 0 0 0.00 2011 2011 1 KTK 0 1 0 0 0.00
Notes denotes players who captained their sides in the 2026 season.
References