The four teams participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs are Royal Challengers Bangalore, Gujarat Titans, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals. Former India opener Aakash Chopra recently picked four captains who could be relieved of their duties ahead of the next season.
Started with Chopra hardik pandyaWho has led Mumbai Indians (MI) for three seasons so far. While they made the playoffs last year, in IPL 2024 and 2026, the five-time champions finished 10th and ninth respectively.
“First is Hardik Pandya. I don't know whether Mumbai will retain him or not, but they may not keep him as captain because it has been three years. You have finished at the bottom of the table in two out of three years and it is not like you won the tournament when you qualified in between,” Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.
He said, “I think Mumbai will make a pivot. They may move to another captain. I don't know who that captain will be, but I think they will look elsewhere. Hardik Pandya may not be the captain of Mumbai Indians till next season. He also had a very ordinary season. He scored some runs in this match, but if you have not won matches then it is not good enough.”
Chopra dropped the name of Rishabh Pant as another captain who could lose his job after Lucknow Super Giants finished last in IPL 2026. He took over the leadership responsibility last season, but his team did not reach the playoffs. After consecutive unsuccessful campaigns, Chopra feels that Pant's tenure as captain may be coming to an end.
The cricketer turned commentator said, “I think the second captain can be Rishabh Pant. Lucknow Super Giants has not had a good season. In fact, this franchise has not been able to qualify for three years in a row. Rishabh Pant was the captain for two years and I think it is done.”
He said, “He is very expensive. They may still not release him. I don't know anything about trade or release, but I think he will not be the captain. Captaincy may come in the way of him becoming the best player.”
“KKR have invested in him for 2 years” – Aakash Chopra on potentially appointing Ajinkya Rahane as captain after IPL 2026
Chopra said that Ajinkya Rahane has played his last game as the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The cricketer-turned-expert feels the three-time champions would like to move on to a new captain after finishing eighth last year and seventh this time under Rahane's reign.
He said, “I think the third one is Ajinkya Rahane. KKR have invested in him for two years. It's not that he hasn't scored runs, although the strike rate has been a bit questionable. He doesn't captain badly, but I think he will also make a pivot. They will also have to find a new captain. I don't know how or who they will find, but I think his captaincy days with KKR are over for now.”
The 48-year-old also mentioned that Sanju Samson could replace Ruturaj Gaikwad of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as the captain of the team after IPL 2026 proved to be a disaster for the Maharashtra batsman. This season has not been very good for Gaikwad with the bat and it seems to be affecting his captaincy as well.
“The fourth one is a bit surprising. It's a bit out of the box too. I think Chennai. Chennai is not known for making pivots. They are not a team that pivots and go in different directions quickly, but Chetta is there, and Sanju has a pedigree. He has captained a lot, been with Rajasthan and taken the team to finals,” Chopra said.
He said, “He is a good captain, and he has scored runs this year too. Whenever he has scored runs, the team has won. So maybe the time has come for you to go to Ruturaj Gaikwad because of his season with the bat. The most likely among them is probably Ruturaj, but I still think they want to go in a different direction, and that direction could be Sanju Samson.”
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