• The captain became a ‘headache’ for the team!


• It became difficult to win on our own


• See list of flop captains

IPL 2026 In, teams like Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians are seen struggling. All these four teams are currently at the bottom of the IPL points table. Rajasthan Royals team is performing strongly; However, in one particular respect they stand at par with teams like KKR, CSK, Lucknow and Mumbai. That matter is the failure of the captains of these teams. As the league phase of IPL 2026 is now reaching its midpoint, the captains of these teams are yet to settle down. Here is a report on how these captains have fared in IPL 2026 so far.

‘These’ captains have to struggle in IPL 2026

Ajinkya Rahane

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is currently at the bottom of the points table in IPL 2026. Their captain, Ajinkya Rahane is largely responsible for this situation. In seven matches, he has managed just 152 runs at an average of 25 and a strike rate of 145. Initially he was opening the innings; He then started batting at number three. However, it is still not clear what his exact role is in the composition of the team. This lack of clarity has adversely affected the performance of both KKR and Rahane himself.

Rishabh Pant

The Lucknow team is once again struggling in the IPL and the same is the case with their captain i.e. Rishabh Pant. He has scored a total of 147 runs in six innings. He has a batting average of 29.40 and a strike rate of 136. Pant is coming in to bat at number three this season; However, he is failing to score runs at the expected pace. As he has been promoted to the top of the batting order, the overall balance of the team also appears to have deteriorated. Nicholas Pooran has had to drop down the batting order and as a result his run flow has also dried up.

Hardik Pandya

The Mumbai Indians captain has so far failed to make an impact in IPL 2026. In five matches, Hardik Pandya has managed just 96 runs at an average of 24 and a strike rate of 143. His highest score is 40 runs. If we look at his bowling stats, he has picked up only three wickets in five matches. He has an economy rate of 11.69 and a bowling average of 50.66. This disappointing performance has been a major reason behind Mumbai’s poor form.

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Ruturaj Gaikwad

The Chennai Super Kings captain is opening the innings in IPL 2026. However, right now he seems to be a mere shadow of his former form. In six matches, Rituraj Gaikwad has managed to score only 82 runs. His strike rate is 112 and his batting average is 13.66. He is currently sixth in the list of highest run-scorers for Chennai.

Riyan Parag

Rajasthan Royals made a strong start in IPL 2026 by winning four matches in a row. However, team captain Rian Parag did not make any significant contribution in these victories. Batting at number four, he managed just 61 runs in six innings. His batting average is 12.30 and strike rate is 122. Rajasthan suffered defeats in their previous two matches and on both occasions Ryan had a chance to make an impact on the match but failed to do so.

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