As the top four teams have decided, former India batter Wasim Jaffer has revealed his captaincy rankings for the ongoing Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026). Jaffer was really disappointed with the way Rishabh Pant led the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) this season.
However, the domestic cricket batting giant was in awe of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar for leading the side to the top of the table from the front. Notably, RCB, Gujarat Titans, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), and Rajasthan Royals (RR) have made it to the IPL 2026 playoffs.
Speaking on ESPNcricinfo Quick Singles, Wasim Jaffer shared his thoughts on this season’s captains, ranking them 10-to-1. The cricket pundit has ranked Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya as the worst IPL 2026 captains. However, Rajat Patidar was named the best captain of the season.
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Pant’s captaincy especially came under heavy criticism as LSG struggled badly this season and failed to show consistency throughout the tournament. LSG finished the season at the bottom of the table with only four wins, losing 10 games. As a result, Jaffer has picked Pant at the 10th spot in his ranking.
The Mumbai Indians failed to dominate despite having a strong squad on paper. They finished on the night spot with only 8 points, with skipper Hardik Pandya getting the ninth place in Jaffer’s list.
Ajinkya Rahane ranked above Ruturaj Gaikwad, Riyan Parag and Axar Patel
Chennai Super Kings showed great fight back under Ruturaj Gaikwad, but early losses made them finish eighth, and the skipper got the same position in the former Indian batter’s ranking for the captains. Axar Patel was placed seventh as the Delhi Capitals finished sixth on the IPL 2026 points table with 14 points.
DC had a great start to this season as well, but they failed to carry forward the momentum mid-season, leading to another failure to qualify for the playoffs. Riyan Parag surprisingly got sixth place after taking Rajasthan Royals to the playoffs.
Ajinkya Rahane was ranked fifth as the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made a stunning comeback to try hard to finish in the top four. However, KKR ended the season in seventh on the points table with 13 points.
Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer was picked as the fourth-best captain of this season by Jaffer despite the last season’s finalists failing to qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs. PBKS suffered six back-to-back defeats after six wins in a row, and because of which they failed to make it to the top four.
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Shubman Gill got third place after guiding the Gujarat Titans strongly this season. GT finished in the second spot in the table, and they will now face RCB in Qualifier 1. Gill was the key behind the Gujarat Titans’ success as the skipper scored most of the runs for his side, amassing over 600 runs.
Pat Cummins and Ishan Kishan get equal praise and place
Jaffer picked Pat Cummins and Ishan Kishan together at the second spot for the way they led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to the playoffs. Ishan led SRH brilliantly when Cummins was recovering from an injury, and then the Australian star did a fantastic job as a captain.
He said, “I thought Ishan also played an important role in where SRH has reached and qualified for the playoffs.” And finally, the commentator picked the Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar as the best captain of this season.
Rajat Patidar is my number 1 captain: Wasim Jaffer
Patidar led RCB to its maiden title last season and now took to the top of the table. Their consistency and smart decision-making during pressure moments impressed Jaffer the most. The skipper has also been in stunning form with the bat, scoring around 400 runs and contributing immensely.
Jaffer said, “Number 1 has to be Rajat Patidar because he won the trophy last season. And again, this season, RCB was the first team to qualify and obviously get the top 2 spot. So Rajat Patidar is my number 1 captain.”
Do you agree with Wasim Jaffer's ratings of the captains in IPL 2026? pic.twitter.com/ss45evA9mN
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