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Former India batter Mohammad Kaif cited his honest opinions on the performances of the captains in IPL 2026. Kaif also shared which captains he felt were on the chopping block and who would keep their jobs next year.
Out of the 10 full-time captains of IPL 2026, Kaif said that 4 were in danger of losing their jobs. Mohammad Kaif also said that captains should leave the job themselves rather than wait to be sacked. Kaif's reflections come at a time when speculation about the futures of certain players is rampant.
Mohammad Kaif backs Ajinkya Rahane
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif was asked for his analysis of all the captains from IPL 2026. Despite all the reports flying around, Kaif backed Ajinkya Rahane and said that the Kolkata Knight Riders captain deserved another chance. Under Rahane, KKR finished 8th in 2025 and 7th in 2026.
Mohammad Kaif praised Rahane for doing a commendable job as captain despite losing many bowlers to injuries throughout the tournament.
“KKR have done well. Rahane must be struggling with the bat, but the way KKR made a comeback after losing the first five games, they didn’t have Pathirana, Cameron Green wasn’t bowling earlier, and Harshit Rana wasn’t available. In their absence, Rahane did a good job as a captain,” Kaif said.
Mohammad Kaif urges Rishabh Pant to quit as captain
When asked which captains would indeed be on the chopping block, Mohammad Kaif took four names. Axar Patel (Delhi Capitals), Hardik Pandya (Mumbai Indians), Rishabh Pant (Lucknow Super Giants), and Ruturaj Gaikwad (Chennai Super Kings).
All four captains have come under fire from all corners for their poor performances, not just with the bat, but as leaders as well. Neither of the four aforementioned captains could lead their teams to the playoffs this year, and even last year, MI was the only team out of the four to make the top four.
Gaikwad became CSK captain in 2024 and has led the team to three group stage exits in three years. Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel, too, have had two group-stage exits in two years as captains of LSG and DC, respectively.
Pant was also DC's captain for a while and led the team to two group stage exits in three seasons, the same ratio as Hardik Pandya at MI. Kaif then urged Rishabh Pant to focus on his batting rather than the captaincy, as it would help him make a comeback to the Indian team.
“Pant shouldn’t be the captain. Without captaincy, he has a good record with the bat. He’s gone behind in the Indian cricket team. He should focus on batting and keeping. There were Justin Langer and Tom Moody. I didn’t like LSG putting Pant under the bus. Keeping is a daring task," Kaif said.
"Pant should focus on batting and keeping; he can make a comeback in the national team in white-ball cricket,” Mohammad Kaif added.
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"Rajat Patidar is the next MS Dhoni" - Kaif
Mohammad Kaif then went on to draw a parallel between current RCB captain Rajat Patidar and legendary Indian and IPL captain MS Dhoni. Patidar led RCB to their first IPL title last year and has taken them to the final this year. Dhoni won five IPL trophies as captain and also won three ICC trophies as captain of India.
“Patidar’s captaincy, I liked it a lot this year. Rajat Patidar showed an example that he was not a brand when he was picked. I like that RCB picked him on the back of his domestic leadership capabilities. Yes, he is batting tremendously well at No. 4, hits sixes from ball one. But the plus point is that he can be your [Team India's] leader in the future," Kaif said.
"He doesn’t panic under pressure. MS Dhoni is captain cool, and Patidar seems to be on a similar path. He’s also scoring against good bowling teams. As a captain, he’s setting standards and his bat is doing the talking," Kaif added.
