IPL 2025: Pat Cummins the only overseas skipper as franchises confirm their picks

The 18th edition of the Indian Premier League seems like the stage where the tournament enters a new era. Young Indian faces form the majority of the leaders in the season ahead, with most franchises onboarding a new prospect. After IPL 2024 wrapped up with Kolkata Knight Riders picking up their third title, many franchises triggered a significant transformation in their camps. The transition set afloat as the retentions were announced for IPL 2025. From defending champions KKR to Lucknow Super Giants, teams let go of their captains and geared up to fill the spots in the IPL 2025 mega auction. Now, with a little over a week until IPL 2025 hits the action, every franchise has confirmed its leading prospects.

KKR, DC, PBKS, RCB, and LSG onboard new captains for IPL 2025

In a surprising turn of events, Delhi Capitals didn't retain Rishabh Pant for the upcoming season, matching the likes of KKR and LSG, who let go of Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, respectively. The mega auction, in turn, set the squads in place as LSG and DC underwent a trade of sorts. Rishabh Pant became the highest-paid player ever in the history of the IPL as Lucknow splurged 27 crores to bag the former Delhi skipper. Delhi, meanwhile, seemed to have struck a bargain as they claimed KL Rahul for 14 crores. Iyer, moreover, became the second-costliest buy of the mega auction, going to Punjab Kings for 26.75 crores.

However, surprises didn’t cease at the mega auction itself, as the captaincy announcements that followed stunned the fraternity further. The defending champions, who re-claimed Venkatesh Iyer in the auction for a whopping sum of 23.75 crores, made Ajinkya Rahane the captain. LSG and DC didn’t stage any out-of-the-box ideas, cementing the anticipated move of making Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer the skippers. Delhi Capitals were the last to announce their pick, with Axar Patel and KL Rahul frontrunning the captaincy race. A day after reports suggested that KL Rahul himself had opted out of holding the leading spot, Axar Patel was confirmed as the Delhi skipper for the upcoming season.

There was a lot of excitement around the captaincy announcement for the fan-favorites, Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The franchise didn't retain Faf du Plessis for the upcoming season as reports surfaced about Virat Kohli being interested in returning to the position. However, the excitement around Kohli’s comeback as the RCB captain was dashed as the franchise went for a younger prospect. Rajat Patidar is now set to lead the team as RCB remains on the lookout for their maiden title win in the league.

CSK, GT, RR, SRH, and MI set to play IPL 2025 with the same leaders

Now, Pat Cummins remains the only overseas prospect to hold the captaincy spot in the IPL. The Sunrisers Hyderabad captain, who led the team to the final last year, is reportedly fit to play IPL 2025 along with his Australian teammates Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. In a recent interaction, the Australian skipper confirmed that he is eyeing IPL 2025 as an opportunity to re-enter his rhythm after missing the Champions Trophy due to his ankle injury.

Defying several reports ahead of the mega auction suggesting CSK would go for Rishabh Pant, Chennai made subtle moves in the auction. No pick emerged in contention for the captaincy role, as the five-time champions seemed assured of Ruturaj Gaikwad. The batter earned the team’s captaincy ahead of IPL 2024, as the IPL 2023 title victory marked the last of MS Dhoni as CSK’s skipper. Now, it is well anticipated that Gaikwad will stay put in the leading position for the long term.

Along with Chennai, the likes of Rajasthan Royals, Gujarat Titans, and Mumbai Indians will take on IPL 2025 with the same captains. Mumbai and Gujarat staged the ultimate spectacle last year as Hardik Pandya moved to Mumbai Indians. The IPL 2022 winner with Gujarat then dethroned Rohit Sharma to claim Mumbai’s captaincy. Gujarat, meanwhile, identified the young Shubman Gill as their leadership pick for the seasons ahead. Sanju Samson stays solid as the captain for Rajasthan Royals, even though the team failed to retain his vice-captain, Jos Buttler, for IPL 2025.