5 Worst Captains In IPL History: The Indian Premier League has seen the best and biggest cricketers of the 21st century grace the league with their world-class skills. From the old guard of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Shane Warne spearheading the league in its early days, players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma emerged as some of the best in the world during their early days in the IPL.
The IPL not only allows the players to grow on the field but also pushes young talents into leadership roles. Currently, players like Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, and Sanju Samson are tasting their first instances of captaining a team.
In fact, Indian captains like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma too captained their IPL sides before donning the skipper hat for the national side.
But, not all captains prosper in the IPL. Rather, many players thrust into captaincy roles flounder, only to be replaced by impatient franchise owners.
Today, we will look at the worst captains in IPL history. This list will be based on the win/loss record of these players as captains. Only players who have captained over 15 IPL matches will be considered for the list. With that being said –
Who Are The 5 Worst Captains In IPL History?
5) Shikhar Dhawan (PBKS/SRH)
The current captain of the Punjab Kings being on this list might not be the best news for the franchise. Shikhar Dhawan, despite being one of the most prolific batters in IPL history, has not showcased his chops as a captain.
Although he natural leader in any locker room due to his experience and status, the Delhi-born opening batter only has a dismal win percentage of 36.36 as captain in the league. In numbers that are easier to understand, he has won 8 and lost 14 matches in the 22 he has captained.
First captaining Sunrisers Hyderabad for a few matches in 2014, he had his first full-time stint as captain when he was bought by PBKS in 2022. However, he has struggled with injuries over the past two years.
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4) Ajinkya Rahane (RPSG/ RR)
Currently undergoing a career renaissance with the Chennai Super Kings, Ajinkya Rahane has been one of the highest run scorers in the history of another IPL-winning franchise, the Rajasthan Royals.
However, his first captaincy stint in the IPL came for a team that, in simple terms, replaced RR for the two years they were banned from the IPL, the Rising Pune Super Giants. When regular captain Steve Smith missed a few matches, Rahane was thrust into the leadership role and did alright.
After RR was re-instated in 2018, he became the full-time captain of the side for a couple of seasons and did not fair decently. His win/loss record in IPL as a captain is a lowly 36 percent, which means he lost 16 and won 9 in the 25 matches he captained.
3) Mahela Jayawardene (KXIP/KTK/DD)
The first of two Sri Lankan legends on this list, Mahela Jayawardene is a surprising name on this list. He took Sri Lanka to the final of the 2007 ODI World Cup, coupled with his seniority and current job in team management might suggest he would be a decent captain.
But numbers say otherwise. First given captaincy of the Punjab Kings (called Kings XI Punjab back then) in 2010 for a single match when regular captain Kumar Sangakkara was not present. He became the regular captain of the new franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerela for the one season they were active.
In 2012, he was named the captain of the Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils) and took the team to the playoffs. He last played in the IPL in 2013 and has a 35 percent win record as captain, despite making the playoff as the skipper one year. In the 30 IPL matches he has captained, Jayawardene has won 10, lost 19, and tied 1.
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2) Kumar Sangakkara (KXIP/DC/SRH)
The second Sri Lankan and another massive surprise on this list, Kumar Sangakkara is statistically the second-worst captain in IPL history.
He was first named the regular captain of a side in 2010 at the Kings XI Punjab (now the Punjab Kings) and finished last in the league table. He then moved to the Deccan Chargers in 2011 and was named captain there. In the same year in which he took Sri Lanka to the final of the ODI World Cup, he finished 7th out of 10 with the Chargers in the IPL.
In 2012, he missed a few games as captain and the team still had a dismal run, and in 2013, Sanga was named the captain of the newly minted Sunrisers Hyderabad, whom he took to the playoffs. Kumar’s win percentage as captain in the IPL is 34.04. Out of the 47 matches he captained, he won 15, lost 30, and tied 2.
1) Kevin Pietersen (RCB/DD)
The captain with the worst win/loss record in the IPL is former England star-batter Kevin Pietersen. While never captained a team for a full season, he had two seasons where he was the primary captain of the team, with both stints ending in disaster.
First named captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009, he was sacked after just six matches, where he won 2 and lost 4. His next stint in captaincy came in the 2014 season for the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals). The 11 matches he captained DD that season was arguably the worst run of any team in IPL history, as he lost 10 and won only one match in match season. Suffice it to say he was not retained by the team in 2015.
At the end of his IPL career, out of the 17 matches he captained, Kevin Pietersen won 3 and lost 14, for the abysmal win percentage of 17.64.
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