5 IPL captains who were removed mid-season – What went wrong?

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has seen some great captains leading their teams to glory. Some players have even exceeded expectations after being appointed as captains of their respective teams.

Axar Patel and Rajat Patidar are captaining teams for the first time in the IPL’s 18th edition. While Axar is at the helm of Delhi Capitals (DC), Patidar is leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Speaking of the most successful captains in the cash-rich league, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma’s names come to mind first. Notably, Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to five titles, while Mumbai Indians (MI) won as many championships under Rohit’s leadership.

However, not every captain has had a successful stint in the IPL, which remains one of the most competitive leagues in world cricket. CricTracker takes a look at five players who had to step down mid-season.

Here are the 5 players who stepped down from captaincy mid season:

5. Gautam Gambhir - Delhi Capitals

Gautam Gambhir was not dropped but voluntarily stepped down as captain of Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils) on April 25, 2018, citing the team's disappointing performances and his own struggles as a leader. Having previously led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to two IPL titles, Gambhir was expected to bring similar success to Delhi. However, things didn’t go as planned.

Following his resignation, Shreyas Iyer was appointed as captain. Interestingly, in 2024, Iyer won the IPL title as KKR’s captain, with Gambhir serving as the team’s mentor.