Virat Kohli Way Below Gautam Gambhir? Ex-KKR Star Ranks Best Captains Ahead of IPL 2026

IPL 2026: We are less than two weeks away from the start of a brand new IPL season and the buzz is palpable. Former KKR star Aakash Chopra picked the best captains in the history of the cash-rich league. Chopra blind-ranked seven IPL captains. Virat Kohli appeared first on the list and Chopra promptly put him at the bottom of the ladder. 

As an IPL captain, Kohli has led RCB in 143 games, winning merely 66 of them. Kohli's best came in 2016 as captain when he led the side to the final to eventually lose it to Sunrisers Hyderabad. 

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Gambhir Outshines Kohli

Chopra ranked former Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir at the third spot - way ahead of Kohli. It was understandable as Gambhir led KKR to the title in 2012 and then in 2014. Apart from that, Gambhir also has a good record as the captain - winning 71 out of 129 games. 

Both Kohli and Gambhir have been extremely competitive at the IPL. While Kohli could not lead his side to their maiden title when he was captain - he did it as a senior player of the side last year. Rajat Patidar led RCB to their maiden IPL crown in IPL 2025. During RCB's 2025 campaign, Kohli played a crucial role with the bat getting the side of to good starts consistently. 

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Who's At No 1 & 2? 

It was not much of a guess as Chopra picked MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma at No. 1 and 2 respectively. Both have been instrumental leaders and still continuie to play the cash-rich league. Rohit and Dhoni would again be seen playing against each other in the upcoming IPL season.