As the top four teams have been decided, former India batsman 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 has led Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) this season.
However, the legendary batsman of domestic cricket was surprised by this Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar from the front to take the team to the top of the table. Notably, RCB, Gujarat Titans, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) have made it to the IPL 2026 playoffs.
Wasim Jaffer called Rishabh Pant the worst captain of IPL 2026
Speaking on ESPNcricinfo Quick Singles, Wasim Jaffer shared his views on this season’s captains, ranking them 10 to 1. Cricket pundit has ranked Rishabh Pant And Hardik Pandya is the worst captain of IPL 2026. However, Rajat Patidar was named the best captain of the season.
Pant’s captaincy was particularly heavily criticized as LSG struggled badly this season and failed to show consistency throughout the tournament. LSG finished the season at the bottom of the table, winning only four and losing 10 games. As a result, Jaffer has selected Pant at 10th position in his rankings.
Despite being a strong team on paper, Mumbai Indians failed to dominate. They finished the night with only 8 points, with captain Hardik Pandya ranked ninth on Jaffer’s list.
Also Read: RCB vs GT, May 26, 2026 Match Prediction Today, Indian Premier League Match 71: Who will win, impact of toss and chances of victory
Ajinkya Rahane is above Ruturaj Gaikwad, Riyan Parag and Axar Patel
Chennai Super Kings showed great fight in their comeback Ruturaj GaikwadBut the early defeat dropped him to eighth position, the same position the former Indian batsman held in the captains’ rankings. Axar Patel finished seventh and Delhi Capitals finished sixth in the IPL 2026 points table with 14 points.
DC also had a great start to this season, but they failed to carry the momentum forward in the middle of the season, leading to another failure to qualify for the playoffs. Riyan Parag surprisingly finished sixth after taking Rajasthan Royals to the playoffs.
Ajinkya Rahane finished fifth Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made a great comeback after working hard to make it to the top four. However, KKR finished the season at seventh position on the points table with 13 points.
Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill impressed Jaffer
Jaffer chose Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer as the fourth best captain this season, despite last season’s finalists failing to qualify for it. ipl 2026 Playoffs. PBKS suffered six consecutive losses followed by six consecutive wins, and due to which they failed to make the top four.
Shubman Gill got the third position after guiding Gujarat Titans strongly this season. GT finished second in the table and will now face RCB in Qualifier 1. Gill was a key player behind the success of Gujarat Titans as the captain scored the highest number of runs for his team and scored more than 600 runs.
Also Read: ‘Udta’ Punjab Kings crashes after a month of hits as ‘Sarpanch’ Shreyas Iyer misses out on IPL 2026 glory
Pat Cummins and Ishan Kishan got equal praise and place
Jaffer picked Pat Cummins and Ishan Kishan at second place together for the way he led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the playoffs. Ishan led SRH brilliantly when Cummins was recovering from injury and the Australian star did a brilliant job as captain.
He said, “I felt that Ishan also played a vital role in SRH reaching as far as they did and qualifying for the playoffs.” And finally, the commentator chose Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Rajat Patidar as the best captain of this season.
Rajat Patidar is my number 1 captain: Wasim Jaffer
Under Patidar’s leadership, RCB won the title for the first time last season and have now reached the top of the table. What impressed Jaffer the most was his consistency in pressure moments and his ability to take smart decisions. The captain has also been in great form with the bat, he has scored almost 400 runs and has contributed a lot.
“No. 1 should be Rajat Patidar because he won the trophy last season. And then, this season, RCB was the first team to qualify and obviously got the top 2 spot. So Rajat Patidar is my No. 1 captain,” Jaffer said.
Do you agree with Wasim Jaffer’s rating of captains in IPL 2026? pic.twitter.com/ss45evA9mN
– ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) 25 may 2026
