At a glance
- Since IPL began, only three have captained India before doing so in the IPL
- Jasprit Bumrah became the third to do so
- Bumrah led MI to six-wicket win over PBKS in IPL captaincy debut
Since the Indian Premier League came into being in 2008, 16 different players have captained the Indian national team across formats. 13 of them captained the country for the first time after the formation of the league. However, only three of them led the Indian team before they captained their franchise side in the IPL.
Today, we look at these three players that captained the national team before they did their franchise sides.
Ajinkya Rahane
With several Indian senior players, including captain MS Dhoni and vice-captain Virat Kohli, rested for the white-ball tour of Zimbabwe in 2015, Ajinkya Rahane was named the captain of the side for both the ODIs and the T20Is.
Rahane had a mixed tour as a captain, with the side winning 3-0 in the ODIs and tying the T20Is 1-1. As a batter, he struggled, however. Rahane scored 112 runs in the 50-over format, while only making 37 runs in the two T20Is.
The now 37-year-old also served as the long-term deputy to former captain Virat Kohli in Tests. In the process, Rahane captained the side in six Tests himself, leading India to four wins and two draws.
In the IPL, Rahane has captained Rising Pune Supergiant, Rajasthan Royals and now Kolkata Knight Riders. Across those three stints, the right hander has led his team out in 49 matches, winning 18 of them.
Read more: “He is still around” – Sunil Gavaskar hails Virat Kohli for his knock against KKR in IPL 2026
Jasprit Bumrah
32-year-old Jasprit Bumrah became the 75th player to captain his side in the IPL when he led the Mumbai Indians to a six-wicket win against the Punjab Kings on Thursday. He has also captained the Indian team in three Tests and two T20Is.
The Men in Blue won both of their T20Is under Bumrah on their tour of Ireland in 2023. However, they have won just one of three Tests that he has captained, losing the other two.
Bumrah’s shot at MI captaincy came after regular skipper Hardik Pandya’s injury layoff continued and stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav had to miss the Punjab game due to personal reasons.
The India pacer got his IPL captaincy career off to the perfect start with his side chasing down the 200 set by PBKS in the final over. If entrusted with captaincy again, Bumrah will want to make the most of his opportunity, having made no secret of his desire to lead in the past.
Also read: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi earns India A spot for Sri Lanka tri-series ahead of UK tour
Ruturaj Gaikwad
With MS Dhoni stepping away from IPL captaincy for a second time in as many years, Ruturaj Gaikwad was named the captain of the Chennai Super Kings ahead of their 2024 campaign.
However, this wasn’t his first dance with leadership at this high a level. With the senior cricketers all busy with the 2023 Cricket World Cup, Gaikwad was chosen to lead the Indian side at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. And lead them he did.
India beat Nepal and Bangladesh in the quarters and the semis respectively, before winning the gold medal thanks to higher seeding after their final against Afghanistan was washed out.
As CSK captain, Gaikwad led the team to 14 wins in 30 matches. And in 2026, we could potentially see Chennai qualify for the playoffs for the first time since Dhoni stepped down.
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