Captains' report card in IPL 2025 before resumption

9/10 - Shreyas Iyer has probably been the most improved player and captain in this year's IPL. Iyer, being the IPL-winning captain from last year for KKR, justified his massive price tag, has scored runs consistently at a certain tempo and has led the Punjab Kings from the front. One more win and PBKS will be in the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade

8.5/10 - Rajat Patidar has probably been the most on-the-feet-thinking captain out of all the 10-11 skippers in IPL 2025. RCB feels invincible in IPL 2025 because every player and even the backups have been performing as such. However, with respect to bowling changes, field settings, Patidar has been spot on, except on a couple of occasions

8/10 - Hardik Pandya was under scrutiny after the last game against the Gujarat Titans for not bowling himself in the last over; however, the Indian all-rounder has more or less been quite on point as a leader and probably after Iyer, the one leading from the front with performances with both bat and ball

8/10 - Shubman Gill has been tactically good for the Gujarat Titans and it helps that 9-10/11 players are performing every game. However, Ashish Nehra's involvement feels a bit heavy given how animated and chatty he remains on the boundary, but still, Gill has led GT well in his second season in command as the 2022 champions are on the way to hopefully clinch their second title

6.5/10 - Axar Patel, leading for the first time, has kept the environment light for the Delhi Capitals and hasn't let the results affect his personality. However, his decision-making on the field hasn't been foolproof, with some questionable calls and it has reflected in DC's results of-late

Ajinkya Rahane - 6.5/10 - Ajinkya Rahane has surprisingly been KKR's best batter in IPL 2025, despite having so many destructors in the line-up. KKR have failed tremendously with the bat in IPL 2025 and hence, judging Rahane's captaincy would be tough but he has been serviceable

6/10 - Pat Cummins hasn't been at his best in IPL 2025. Apart from one game where he single-handedly took out Delhi Capitals' line-up, the SRH skipper has been decent tactically, he hasn't left a mark with the ball as the whole team has buckled under the expectations and pressure of performance after last year

5/10 - MS Dhoni was pushed into captaincy once again after Ruturaj Gaikwad suffered a season-ending injury. While Dhoni has been one of the masterful leaders in cricket, surprisingly, some of his decision-making has been poor in IPL. Not bowling a spinner against two big hitters, bowling changes not clearly thought-out and the results are probably a reflection of the same

4.5/10 - Riyan Parag, too, wasn't originally the captain for Rajasthan Royals but was pushed into it following Sanju Samson's injury. Parag has shown sparks of what he can do as a batter but he has seldom owned the stage as a captain. Parag never seemed to take a call, which really turned the game or affected the game positively by his captaincy

4/10 - It was a really poor season for Ruturaj Gaikwad; in five matches he led CSK. The decision to drop himself to No 3 didn't work and there were some glaring errors with his captaincy calls too

3/10 - Nothing has really worked for Rishabh Pant in IPL 2025, in his first season leading the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Apart from some good decisions in the first few matches, Pant hasn't been in form at all personally and doesn't seem like to be carrying the team and leading them by an example