The Indian Premier League (IPL) has seen many great captains in the 18 seasons who have shown solid dedication towards the team and have won them games with valuable contributions. The T20 league extends for two months straight, which means that the teams and the players need to have the correct blend of patience and resilience to go through the entire season in one go. Evidently, there are players like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Manish Pandey are the ones who have played in all the seasons of the league.

Out of these, all except Pandey have captained their respective sides for many years, almost becoming the poster boys of the team they represent. They have performed well, led their teams to victories, and shown the true meaning of captaincy. Apart from these, there are many other captains who have done well in the process. However, this season has seen a decline in the performances and contributions from the captains on the field. Hence, in this article, we will discuss the players who have failed to perform as a captain.

Here are three worst performing captains in IPL 2025

3. MS Dhoni (CSK)

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni passed on the captaincy baton to Ruturaj Gaikwad in 2024. However, the right-hand batter sustained an elbow injury this season and was unfortunately ruled out of the tournament. Hence, Dhoni had to lead the side for the rest of the tournament. While CSK are at the bottom of the points table, with just two wins in 11 games, Dhoni’s poor performance has been the highlight of the season.

First, it started with him coming down the order to bat, and now, his failure to hit the balls even in crunch situations has become a matter of concern for the side. Leaving the captaincy aspect aside, in 11 matches, he has scored 163 runs at an average of 23.28. This isn’t a great start, especially when the team needed him the most. Hence, Dhoni secures the third spot in the list.

2. Riyan Parag (RR)

Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Riyan Parag hasn’t had a good season either. He failed in the captaincy aspect as RR are eliminated from the tournament and with the bat as well. In 11 innings he batted in so far, the Guwahati-born has amassed 282 runs, at an average of 31.33. Despite coming in at the No.4 position, he has failed to score a single half-century in the tournament.

His poor batting performance is one of the main reasons behind RR’s loss in the IPL 2025. Due to the failure of the top four batters, the pressure fell directly on the middle-order batters, who couldn’t convert the score in most of the matches. Parag had a good chance of showing his skills in the absence of Sanju Samson, but he failed to do so.

1. Rishabh Pant (LSG)

This IPL season, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant was in the news for grabbing INR 27 crore and being the most expensive player in the league’s history. Hence, a great performance was expected from him by the owner and the fans. However, in ten matches, the Southpaw has amassed just 110 runs at an average of 12.22.

Even though the team was carried by the top-order batters in most games, Pant’s contributions would have been valuable. He did try to change his batting positions to get some luck with the bat, but failed massively. This is a forgettable season for Pant as a batter. However, LSG have a good chance of qualifying for the playoffs, so all eyes will be on them.