Ajinkya Rahane’s has showcased his leadership skills as an IPL captain, leading teams like Rajasthan Royals and Rising Pune Supergiant. Known for his calm demeanor, Rahane captained in 25 matches, achieving 9 wins and 16 losses. Despite mixed results, his tactical acumen and ability to nurture young talent have been highlights of his captaincy tenure.
Ajinkya Rahane has played for six teams in the IPL.
Ajinkya Rahane, one of the few players who featured in the inaugural IPL season in 2008 and remain active in the league, will return to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for IPL 2025. After a stint with KKR in 2022 and two seasons with Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Rahane was bought by KKR at the IPL 2025 mega auction for his base price of INR 1.5 crores. With KKR parting ways with IPL 2024 title-winning captain Shreyas Iyer, the three-time champions are set to name a new skipper, and reports from the Times of India suggest Rahane is likely to take on the role for the upcoming season.
KKR would have relied on Rahane’s extensive playing experience and his prior IPL captaincy to guide the team. Rahane has represented six franchises in his IPL career, with the majority of his time spent at Rajasthan Royals (RR). He played for RR from 2012 to 2015, and after their suspension, returned for another two seasons in 2018 and 2019. During RR’s ban, Rahane also captained Rising Pune Supergiant.
Ajinkya Rahane captaincy record in IPL:
Ajinkya Rahane captained Rajasthan Royals and Rising Pune Supergiant in a combined 25 matches from 2017 to 2019. Out of these 25 games, his team won only nine matches and lost 16. Under Rahane, RR reached the playoffs in IPL 2018 but failed to reach the final.
In the next season, RR started poorly and after a string of losses under Rahane, Steve Smith was given the captaincy.
During his captaincy tenure, Rahane had ordinary returns with the bat. As a skipper in the IPL, he scored 583 runs in 25 games at an average of 25 and strike rate of 122, hitting only two half-centuries. In 25 matches as a captain, Rahane smashed only nine sixes.
| Season | Team | Matches | Wins | Losses | Win Percentage |
| 2017 | Rising Pune Supergiant | 14 | 5 | 9 | 35.71% |
| 2018 | Rajasthan Royals | 15 | 7 | 8 | 46.67% |
| 2019 | Rajasthan Royals | 14 | 6 | 8 | 42.86% |
