The youngest captains in IPL history have showcased remarkable leadership, stepping into roles at a young age. Despite facing challenges, they made significant impacts with their resilience and talent, leading their teams through tough situations and contributing to their franchises’ successes in various seasons of the tournament.
Shreyas Iyer (23y 142d)
Shreyas Iyer is the fifth youngest captains to lead an IPL side. At just 23, he took charge of the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) during the 2018 IPL, after Gautam Gambhir stepped down. Iyer made his captaincy debut against Kolkata Knight Riders, leading Delhi to two consecutive victories against CSK and MI. He continued as the captain of the Delhi-based franchise until IPL 2021, guiding them to the final before moving to KKR, where he secured his first IPL title.
Riyan Parag (23y 133d)
Riyan Parag is the latest addition to the list of youngest captains. He captained for the first time in IPL 2025 when Sanju Samson was unavailable for the first three matches as a wicketkeeper. Samson was played as an Impact Player, and Parag was appointed as the stand-in captain for those games.
Parag made his captaincy debut against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), but his team ended up on the losing side after failing to chase down a massive target of 287 runs. The 23-year-old had a breakthrough IPL season in 2024 after several disappointing performances with the Royals.
Suresh Raina (23y 112d)
Raina made an impactful start to his captaincy, scoring 49 runs against the Delhi Daredevils in his first game in charge. He also captained the Gujarat Lions for a couple of seasons, leading them to a top-of-the-table finish in 2016.
Steve Smith (22y 344d)
Australian batsman Steve Smith is the only overseas player on this list and holds the record for being the second youngest captains in IPL history. Smith made his captaincy debut in the 2012 IPL for the Pune Warriors against RCB.
At the time, Smith had not yet reached his prime as a batter. He replaced the legendary Sourav Ganguly for one match, but the Warriors finished last in the league stage. Smith later went on to lead the Rajasthan Royals, winning 15 out of 27 games, as well as captaining the Rising Pune Supergiant.
Virat Kohli (22y 187d)
Kohli took full charge of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2013 and won both of his opening games. As the highest run-scorer in IPL history, Kohli has captained RCB in 143 IPL matches, leading them to the playoffs four times and finishing as runners-up in 2016.
