The four teams that will be featuring in the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs are the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and the Rajasthan Royals. Former India opener Aakash Chopra recently picked four captains who could be relieved of their duties ahead of next season.
Chopra started with Hardik Pandya, who has led Mumbai Indians (MI) in three seasons so far. While they made it to the playoffs last year, in IPL 2024 and 2026, the five-time champions finished 10th
and ninth, respectively.
"The first is Hardik Pandya. I don't know whether Mumbai would retain him or not, but they might not keep him as the captain because it's been three years. You finished close to the bottom of the table in two out of the three years, and it's not like you won the tournament when you qualified in the middle," Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.
"I think Mumbai will make a pivot. They might go towards some other captain. I don't know who that captain would be, but I think they will look elsewhere. Hardik Pandya might no longer be the Mumbai Indians captain by the time the next season happens. His season was also very ordinary. He scored a few runs in this match, but it's not good enough if you haven't won matches," he added.
Chopra dropped Rishabh Pant's name as another captain who could lose his job after the Lucknow Super Giants finished last in IPL 2026. He took over the leadership duties last season, but his team hadn't reached the playoffs. After consecutive unsuccessful campaigns, Chopra feels that Pant's tenure as captain could be over.
"I feel the second captain could be Rishabh Pant. The Lucknow Super Giants' season hasn't been good. In fact, this franchise hasn't qualified for three consecutive years. Rishabh Pant was the captain for two years, and I think it's done," the cricketer-turned-commentator observed.
"He is very expensive. They might still not release him. I don't know anything about trade or release, but I feel he won't remain the captain. Captaincy might be coming in the way of him becoming the best player he can be," he added.
"KKR have invested in him for 2 years" - Aakash Chopra on Ajinkya Rahane potentially being replaced as captain after IPL 2026
Chopra opined that Ajinkya Rahane has played his last game as the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The cricketer-turned-expert feels that the three-time champions would want to move on to a new captain after finishing eighth last year and seventh this time under Rahane's reign.
"I feel the third is Ajinkya Rahane. KKR have invested in him for two years. It's not like he hasn't scored runs, although the strike rate has remained slightly questionable for sure. He doesn't captain badly, but I think they will also make a pivot. They will also have to find a new captain. I have no idea how or who they will find, but I feel his captaincy days with KKR have ended for now," he said.
The 48-year-old also mentioned that Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) Ruturaj Gaikwad could be replaced by Sanju Samson as the captain of the side after IPL 2026 turned out to be a disaster for the Maharashtra batter. Gaikwad had an underwhelming season with the bat and it seemed to take a toll on his captaincy as well.
"The fourth is slightly shocking. It is slightly out of the box as well. I think Chennai. Chennai is not known to make pivots. They are not a team that makes pivots and goes in different directions quickly, but Chetta is there, and Sanju has a pedigree. He has captained a lot, has been with Rajasthan, and took the team to the final," Chopra observed.
"He is a decent captain, and he has scored runs as well this year. Whenever he has scored runs, the team has won. So maybe it's time for you to go towards him because of the season Ruturaj Gaikwad has had with the bat. The most unlikely among them is probably Ruturaj, but I still feel they might want to go in a different direction, and that direction might be Sanju Samson," he added.
