Punjab Kings (PBKS) have had a volatile journey in the IPL. They have never been able to assemble a stable squad, let alone a skipper.
That’s perhaps one reason why they are yet to win the T20 league. A year or two goes by, and they have a new captain.
Can you guess how many captains they have had thus far?
The answer is 17! Yes, that’s a big number, which tells us how unstable they have been in the league.
That said, let’s glance at all the captains of Punjab Kings in the IPL.
1. Yuvraj Singh
Punjab picked up Yuvraj Singh as their icon player for the first edition. And they also made him their first skipper.
Punjab took big strides under their local hero and stormed into the semi-finals. But they went down in the semi-final and failed to secure a berth in the final.
The next season, PBKS failed to make the knockouts by a small margin. They ended up in the fifth spot with seven victories.
Yuvraj captained Punjab in 29 games and returned with 17 victories. What’s interesting is Yuvraj is still their most successful skipper, with a win rate of 58.62.
2. Kumar Sangakkara
Punjab handed the leadership duties to Kumar Sangakkara in 2010. The keeper-captain couldn’t make a difference in their performance. Rather, it went down.
Sanga couldn’t keep the momentum as Punjab slipped to the bottom of the points table. He led them in 13 matches and won four.
3. Mahela Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene stood in for his fellow countryman, Sanga, in a game in 2010. He couldn’t do any different from Sanga while Punjab lost the game.
4. Adam Glichrist
Adam Gilchrist came in as Punjab’s third full-time captain in 2011. The expectations were high, as he had won the trophy for Deccan Chargers two seasons ago.
But Gilchrist failed to emulate the success with Punjab. He was the captain for three seasons, but Punjab always had an average outing.
Gilchrist bowed out of the league after the 2013 season. He was at the helm for 34 matches and had a 50-50 win-loss record.
Did You Know: Gilchrist picked up a wicket on the only ball he bowled in the IPL?
5. David Hussey
David Hussey acted as stand-in skipper in 2012. With Gilchrist out for half the season, he led the team to five wins in nine games. Hussey kept Punjab’s playoff hopes alive before Gilchrist returned for the last two matches.
He again stood in for Gilchrist for three matches in 2013. In all, Hussey captained Punjab in 12 games, with six wins and as many losses.
6. George Bailey
After Gilchrist’s departure, Punjab handed the reins to another Australian player in 2014. George Bailey’s calm nature made Punjab a dominant force.
The Kings topped the points table with 11 wins and even made it to the final. But despite the once-in-a-lifetime performance, Punjab failed to win the trophy.
After a stellar run in 2014, one would’ve expected a repeat in 2015. But they were back to their usual.
Bailey failed to imitate last season’s magic as his side finished last on the points table with 11 losses. Overall, he won 14 games out of the 30 he captained Punjab in.
7. Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag stood in for Bailey for one match in 2015. He guided them to a tense Super Over win against Rajasthan.
8. David Miller
After the horrible run in 2015, Punjab named David Miller as their new skipper. His captaincy tenure, though, lasted for six games. Miller stepped down after securing a solitary win in six matches.
9. Murali Vijay
Murali Vijay took over the reins from Miller. He couldn’t change the fortunes of the team.
Punjab added three more wins under Vijay’s captaincy, while they finished another season at the bottom.
10. Glenn Maxwell
Punjab and their obsession with Australian skippers continued in 2017. Glenn Maxwell was their 10th captain in as many IPL seasons!
He gave a decent start with two wins. But the performance slipped in the middle to keep them away from playoff qualification.
Punjab ended the 2017 edition in the fifth position, as Maxwell managed seven wins in 14 matches.
11. Ravichandran Ashwin
Punjab retorted to an Indian skipper in 2018. They appointed Ravichandran Ashwin as their new captain.
Ashwin failed to bring a change in Punjab’s fortunes with his street-smartness. The team lingered in the bottom half in 2018 and 2019.
After two poor seasons, the franchise traded Ashwin to Delhi Capitals in late 2019. He captained Punjab in 28 games, with 12 victories to his name.
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12. KL Rahul
With Ashwin gone, Punjab transferred the captaincy duties to KL Rahul. But the change didn’t bring any respite from the dull outings.
Punjab finished sixth in 2020 and 2021, as Rahul led them in 27 matches, with 12 wins.
13. Mayank Agarwal
Mayank Agarwal first stood in for Rahul in a game in 2021. The next season, though, he replaced Rahul as Punjab’s full-time skipper.
As was the case with almost all previous captains, Agarwal couldn’t change their fate. Punjab had a mixed bag in 2022, as they finished sixth on the ladder.
Agarwal was at the helm in 14 matches and mustered seven wins to have a win rate of 50.
14. Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan was Punjab’s captain in 2023 and 2024. But he missed quite a few games due to injury.
Dhawan captained the team for most of the season in 2023, while he missed more than half the matches in 2024. He managed to win six matches for Punjab out of 11.
15. Sam Curran
Sam Curran was the stand-in skipper in 2023 and 2024. He stood in for injured Dhawan.
Curran did show some promise with his captaincy decisions, but it didn’t make much of a difference in Punjab’s campaign. The England all-rounder skippered them in 11 games and won five of them.
16. Jitesh Sharma
Jitesh Sharma was originally the deputy to Dhawan in 2025. But he never got the opportunity to lead, as the management went with Curran as a stand-in skipper.
Since Curran wasn’t available for the last match, Jitesh stepped in for him. In the solitary game, Jitesh endured a loss.
17. Shreyas Iyer
Punjab were in search of a new captain ahead of the 2025 season. Their search ended when they bought Shreyas Iyer in the auction.
They shelled out INR 26.75 crore to acquire the 2024 IPL-winning skipper. And Iyer has repaid the faith shown by the franchise in his leadership abilities. He, along with coach Ricky Ponting, has made a huge difference.
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