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Former Australia captain Aaron Finch has expressed his views on which captains from IPL 2026 should continue to lead their teams in IPL 2027.
Finch was speaking to ESPN Cricinfo and was asked whether each of the 10 teams should stick with the same captain next year. As expected, Aaron Finch said that most of the captains of the teams that performed well this year should continue to perform well in 2027 as well.
Aaron Finch did not reveal the names of replacements for most of the captains whom he had refused to make.
Aaron Finch gives his verdict on all 10 captains of IPL 2026
1. Hardik Pandya
Pandya’s tenure as captain has been the most controversial among all the captains in IPL 2026. Since joining MI in 2024, Pandya has led the franchise to bottom positions in both 2024 and 2026. In 2025, he led MI to the playoffs, but still, it had a resurgence.
In IPL 2026, Pandya led MI in 9 matches and won just two of them. Aaron Finch said that Pandya should not remain the captain, but he did not name any alternative. “It feels a little shaky right now,” he said.
2. Rishabh Pant
Pant became the captain of LSG in 2025, but could not deliver the desired results with the bat or as captain. In 2025, he led LSG to 7th position, while in 2026, they are all set to finish 10th.
Rishabh Pant’s LSG was the first team to be eliminated from the playoff race this year. Like MI, they have also got only 4 wins in 13 matches.
Aaron Finch believes that Pant should not become the captain next year.
When asked about the replacements, he said, “There is Markram, there is Marsh, who are experienced international captains, but Rishabh has a bad win-loss ratio at LSG.”
3. Shreyas Iyer
Iyer joins Punjab Kings in 2025 as the second most expensive player in IPL history. That year, he took the team to the top of the standings and their first playoff qualification in 11 years.
Ultimately, the team finished runner-up, but continued to impress in 2026. After 6 wins and no result in their first 7 matches, they were eliminated from the playoff race after losing 6 consecutive matches.
The team, which was on top of the points table at half-time, will now have to depend on other results to make it to the top four.
However, Aaron Finch felt that Shreyas Iyer should continue to lead PBKS.
4. Ajinkya Rahane
On the auction table, Rahane was almost an afterthought for KKR when he joined them for just Rs 1.5 crore in the mega auction in 2025.
But when the season came, Rahane was made the captain of the then defending champion Kolkata Knight Riders team. That team finished 8th in 2025. In 2026, their time was even worse in the beginning.
KKR started the season with 5 losses in 5 matches and no result in 6 matches and then bounced back with 6 wins in their last 7 matches. Although they will need other results to go their way, the team that spent the first half without a win is still in the race for the playoffs.
However, Aaron Finch believes that KKR should look in a new direction. “I don’t think so, in my opinion they could go in a different direction,” he said. But once again, he did not clearly name any replacement.
5. Rituraj Gaikwad
Ruturaj Gaikwad rose through the ranks at CSK as an uncapped batsman and became their captain in 2024. Since then, CSK have gone without making the top four for three consecutive years, and that year also includes 2026.
In IPL 2026, CSK won only 6 out of their 14 matches. The streak of 6 wins in 8 matches was halted due to two separate defeats of three matches each. However, Aaron Finch said that Gaikwad can retain his position if he improves his batting performance.
Finch said, “Yes, I think Gaikwad can captain them next year. But obviously his own performance also needs improvement.”
6. Riyan Parag
Parag took over the RR captaincy on an interim basis last year, but will step into the role full-time in IPL 2026. Under his leadership, RR won each of their first four matches in the tournament before being interrupted midway.
RR are still in the race for the playoffs and their fate is in their own hands. Due to injuries, Parag has led the team in only 11 out of 13 matches. Of these, he has won 6 and lost 5.
Aaron Finch said he was unsure of Parag’s fate with the armband and the risk of him being killed over the next year.
Finch said, “I am confused on this, because I think there might be some young Indian players who are fighting for that position. So, do I think he will be the captain? No. Should he be the captain? I think, yes.”
7. Akshar Patel
Akshar Patel became the captain of DC in 2025 also. That year, the team won each of its first four games but still failed to qualify for the playoffs.
This year, the band-aid was ripped off from the beginning. After winning their first two games, Delhi lost 7 of their next 9. By winning their last two matches, Akshar Patel’s team has now got an outside chance of making the top four.
Aaron Finch said the southpaw should not continue as captain and named KL Rahul as his replacement. “Yes, KL can do a great job. He has done it in the past as well. I think Axar is not using the ball to get the best out of the team. Maybe he is reluctant because he is the captain,” Finch said.
8. Pat Cummins
Cummins was named SRH captain in 2024 after winning the ODI World Cup and WTC as captain last year. Under his leadership, SRH began a revolution in aggressive batting that took them to the runner-up spot in 2024.
It was not so good in 2025 either and the ‘Orange Army’ failed to make the last four. However, this year they have recovered and come back. Cummins split the leadership duties with Ishan Kishan for 7 matches as he worked to recover from a back injury.
In his 7 matches, Cummins led SRH to 5 wins and finished 3rd in the points table. Finch said that Cummins should become the captain next year also.
9. Rajat Patidar
Patidar has also got a lot of success after being made the captain of RCB in 2025. Last year, he led the team to its first IPL title after a wait of 18 years and continued that consistency till 2026.
This year, Patidar took RCB to the top of the points table by winning 8 out of their 13 matches. This year, Jitesh Sharma had to take over the captaincy for one match.
Aaron Finch said that Patidar should remain the captain.
10.Shubman Gill
Gill was made the captain of Gujarat Titans in 2024 after Hardik Pandya was transferred to MI. In his first year as captain, his team failed to make the top four, but made up for it in the next two years.
Gill has managed to keep GT in the top three in the points table in both 2025 and 2026. Last year they lost the eliminator, but this year they will play Qualifier 1.
Aaron Finch said that Gill should remain the captain.
Also read: Shan Masood started advocating to save Test captaincy when Mohsin Naqvi was busy in politics.
