The stage is set for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, which is scheduled to begin on March 21. Before the exciting league starts, let’s take a look at five Indian IPL captains who never had the opportunity to lead the national team.
1. Shreyas Iyer
Former KKR captain and current PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer has achieved significant success as an IPL captain. He is the only Indian captain to have won the IPL title. However, he has not yet had the opportunity to lead the Indian national team in any format. Iyer’s journey as an IPL captain started with the Delhi Capitals in the 2018 season, and it peaked when he led the team to the finals in the 2020 season.
He subsequently led the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2022 and 2024 seasons, securing a title victory in the earlier edition. Over his 70 IPL matches as captain, Iyer has guided his teams to victory in 40 games, while they have experienced 29 losses. One match ended without a result. If his strong performance as a leader continues, he could likely be considered for the Indian captaincy, especially in ODIs, where he is a regular member of the squad.
2. Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson, the captain of the Rajasthan Royals, has not yet had the opportunity to lead the Indian national team in any format. He has been the captain of the Rajasthan Royals since 2021 and successfully guided the team to the IPL final in the 2022 season. Throughout his tenure, Samson has overseen 61 matches as captain, securing 31 wins, 29 losses, and one game that ended without a result.
Samson has demonstrated significant growth as a batsman, especially since assuming a leadership role. The 2024 IPL season was arguably his best performance with the bat, and this increased maturity has positively impacted his international play, as evidenced by his three T20I centuries in recent times. While he is clearly evolving as a cricketer, he has yet to secure an international captaincy. It remains to be seen how his chances for captaincy will develop in the future.
3. Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja, a key player for the Chennai Super Kings, has been a consistent and impactful contributor for India across all formats for over a decade. Throughout his career, he has experienced transitions both internationally and in the IPL. However, despite his success on the field, he has yet to take on a captaincy role.
For a long time, he was seen as a potential successor to MS Dhoni at CSK. When he finally got the chance to lead the team during the 2020 season, his performance was not successful. In the eight matches he captained, Jadeja secured only two wins and was removed from the captaincy mid-season.
Five years have passed since then, and Jadeja has not captained either India or CSK again. He appears destined to be one of those star players who, despite their talent and achievements, will conclude their careers without having captained their country.
4. Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin, the legendary spinner from India, is known for his strategic insight and sharp cricketing intellect. However, despite his remarkable reputation, he never had the opportunity to captain the Indian national team. He did lead Kings XI Punjab during the 2018 and 2019 IPL seasons, where he achieved 12 wins out of 28 matches. His 16 losses as captain were often attributed to his tendency to experiment with various tactical ideas. Ashwin has been a key player for India’s Test team, and many believe he could have thrived as a captain in the longest format of the game. Recently, however, he announced his retirement from international cricket.
5. Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh, the former superstar all-rounder of India, was a legend in white-ball cricket. He played a crucial role in India’s victories in both the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup. Despite his significant contributions to Indian cricket, he never had the opportunity to captain the national team. Yuvraj led Kings XI Punjab during the 2008 IPL season, overseeing 43 matches. His record as captain in the IPL was balanced, with 21 wins, 21 losses, and one no-result. Although he served as the vice-captain for India during the 2007 T20 World Cup and several other bilateral series, he was never appointed as the national side’s captain. This absence is noteworthy in an otherwise illustrious career.
