IPL 2026: Post-Auction Captaincy Changes — Who Will Lead Which Team?

The IPL 2026 mini-auction has been wrapped up, thus, making the teams more transparent and re-opening the talks about captaincy. There were 77 players sold out of the 369 registered, and the Australian all-rounder Cameron Green was the most costly purchase. The final squads are now set, and the captaincy is only the focus of the teams who are getting new leaders when the season kicks off.

Some franchises have chosen to go for the same players while others may well be introducing new captains because of player transfers after the auction.

Forthcoming and Existing Captains

The IPL 2026 season will see Hardik Pandya taking the reins of the Mumbai Indians team. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru have also retained Rajat Patidar, who had a phenomenal run with the team, as their leading player for the coming season. The management is fully confident in his gentle and efficient captaincy style.

Gujarat Titans will appoint Shubman Gill as their captain for the upcoming season as the franchise trusts his ability to lead. Punjab Kings, who lost to RCB in the IPL 2025 final by the slightest of margins, have decided to keep Shreyas Iyer as the captain after he took the team to the final for the first time in ten years.

Sunrisers Hyderabad will most likely continue with Pat Cummins as their captain despite the fact that IPL 2025 was a poor season for them, believing that he will bring about a turnaround. The Lucknow Super Giants, who had a fantastic auction, will still have Rishabh Pant as their captain. The Chennai Super Kings also made the same decision, so they will not appoint Sanju Samson as the captain because they have already included Ruturaj Gaikwad as the new captain in the squad.

Teams May Name New Captains

The Kolkata Knight Riders had Ajinkya Rahane as their captain during the last season and seem to be very likely to keep him on board for the IPL. Meanwhile, the Delhi Capitals might face a captaincy change. The squad without Faf du Plessis and with uncertainty around Axar Patel’s role, has seen KL Rahul emerge as a strong candidate to take over the captaincy.

Movement of the Royals will be unmistakable Change at the top. There is a long-time captain Sanju Samson who is going to the Chennai Super Kings and the franchise is expected to give over the full-time captaincy to Riyan Parag with an announcement coming soon.

As teams determine their leadership, the IPL 2026 season will bring in a combination of continuity and change, therefore, making the new season even more interesting.