Punjab Kings, jointly owned by Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia, Preity Zinta and Karan Paul are one of the most popular T20 franchises in the IPL. Having started its journey as Kings XI Punjab, the team’s identity was changed to Punjab Kings later in 2021. Over the years, they have gained a reputation for underperforming in the IPL. Punjab Kings are one of the only three sides from the 2008 season other than Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore to have never won the IPL yet. Throughout the 15 IPL seasons, numerous legendary players have played for the team, with some even leading it. However, none of them have succeeded in bringing glory to the Kings in the North. Today, in this article, we will find out about Punjab Kings (PBKS) All Captains List From 2008 To 2024 who they have had previously and how they fared.
PBKS All Captains List: How Many Players Have Captained Punjab Kings In IPL History
Yuvraj Singh: (2008-2009)
Yuvraj Singh, the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi actor Yograj Singh, was chosen as the Punjab Kings’ icon player and captain in the first season. Finishing 2nd in the points, the team performed really well under him even though they failed to reach the final after losing the semifinal game.
In the second season, the team’s performance slightly declined, but they still did reasonably well. However, Punjab Kings couldn’t make it to the semifinals, ending up in 5th place on the points table. The franchise didn’t retain the World Cup winner for the next season. Also Read: Rajasthan Royals (RR) All Captains List From 2008 To 2024 (Present)
Kumar Sangakkara: (2010)
Kumar Sangakkara, a Sri Lankan legend wicket-keeper was appointed as the next captain of the Punjab Kings in the 2010 season. Sangakkara’s tenure as captain was not very successful, as the team finished last in the league table, with only 3 wins from 13 matches and thereafter he was dismissed from Captaincy.
Mahela Jayawardene: (2010)
Another legendary Sri Lankan, Mahela Jayawardene was made the captain in 2010. He was primarily a player, though he did captain the team for one match in the 2010 IPL season in the absence of the regular skipper, Kumar Sangakkara. Unfortunately, the Kings XI Punjab lost that match against the Chennai Super Kings.
Adam Gilchrist: (2011-2013)
Punjab Kings signed Adam Gilchrist, the Australian wicketkeeper-batter ahead of the IPL 2011 and was handed over with the duties of captaincy. Unfortunately, the destructive opener failed to change the woes of the struggling Punjab Kings.
Punjab Kings finished 5th, 6th, and 6th, in the IPL 2011, 2012, and 2013, respectively under Gilly’s captaincy. Adam Gilchrist led the franchise in 34 matches with a winning percentage of 50% with 17 wins across three seasons. Also Read: Delhi Capitals (DC) All Captains List From 2008 To 2024
David Hussey: (2012-2013)
David Hussey, the Australian all-rounder filled in for his countrymate Adam Gilchrist during the IPL 2012 and 2013 as the captain. He led them 12 times winning 6 of them.
George Bailey: (2014-2015)
Punjab Kings made drastic changes to the squad in order to redeem their fortunes at the IPL by roping in another Australian George Bailey as the Captain. The team had their best-ever run in the 2014 season by reaching the final but were left heartbroken after losing the final against Kolkata Knight Riders.
George Bailey returned to lead the Punjab Kings in 2015, for the 2nd year but Punjab Kings failed to keep up with last season’s consistency when they almost seemed invincible. Punjab reached the lowest point under the Aussie in 2015 as they won only 13 matches and finished at the bottom place in the points table.
Virender Sehwag: (2015)
The explosive Indian opener, Virendra Sehwag, was awarded with the opportunity to lead Punjab Kings in the absence of George Bailey for once and they won the match in the Super Over.
David Miller: (2016)
Fondly known as ‘The Killer-Miller’, among the Punjab Kings fans, David Miller was promoted as the Captain for the IPL 2016. But Punjab Kings only won a game out of six under the southpaw. He was removed as the captain mid-season thereafter after a bad run of games with the bat as well. Also Read: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) All Captains List From 2008 To 2024
Murali Vijay: (2016)
Having removed David Miller from Captaincy, Punjab management went to the Indian option in Murali Vijay as the next captain. However, the former Indian opener couldn’t change Punjab Kings’ fortunes much, as they won only 3 out of 8 games under his captaincy. Punjab Kings finished at the bottom of the points table for the second consecutive season.
Glenn Maxwell: (2017)
In the following season of IPL 2017, Punjab Kings put their faith in the Australian all-rounder, Glenn Maxwell. ‘The Big Show’, did enough as compared to those before him as Punjab Kings registered 7 wins and 7 losses in 14 league matches under him. However, they narrowly missed out on qualifying for the playoffs, finishing 5th in the points table. Also Read: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) All Captains List From 2008 To 2024
Ravichandran Ashwin: (2018-2019)
Ahead of the IPL 2018, Punjab Kings signed the witty off-spinner Ravi Ashwin in the mega auctions and appointed him as the next captain of the team. However, the story didn’t unfold any differently for the Kings’ in both the seasons that followed.
Punjab Kings started strongly in both seasons, but stumbled halfway into the season. Under R Ashwin’s leadership, Punjab Kings finished 7th and 6th in the two seasons respectively. Across 28 games in two seasons, the team managed only 12 wins. Consequently, the team management decided to part ways with Ashwin after the IPL 2019.
KL Rahul: (2020-2021)
The newest addition to the prolonged list of Punjab Kings’ captains was KL Rahul. Signed ahead of the IPL 2020 he failed to inspire his team to qualify for the playoffs even though the Karnataka boy contributed heavily with his willow.
History repeated itself as the team stumbled after a promising start in both the IPL 2020 and 2021 seasons. Under KL Rahul’s leadership, Punjab Kings finished 6th in both years. Prior to IPL 2022, KL Rahul ended his association with Punjab Kings and joined the new franchise, Lucknow Super Giants.
Mayank Agarwal: (2021-2022)
Mayank Agarwal, close friend of KL Rahul served as his deputy for Punjab Kings in IPL 2021. And after KL Rahul left, the team management put faith in him and promoted him as the regular captain of the team in 2022.
The team remained inconsistent throughout the season as they failed narrowly to qualify for the playoffs. Under Mayank Agarwal, Punjab Kings finished 6th in the points table with 7 wins and 7 losses after 14 matches. Also Read: IPL 2024: Schedule, Time Table, Venues, Teams and Captains
Shikhar Dhawan (2022-Present)
In the absence of Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan led Punjab Kings only for a single game during the IPL 2022. Unfortunately, the left-handed southpaw had to face a defeat in that fixture.
But the following season of 2023, Shikhar Dhawan was named as the full-time captain of the Punjab Kings (PBKS). Unfortunately, the Punjab Kings were unable to maintain their early momentum and struggled with inconsistency throughout the season. The captain of the Punjab Kings for the IPL 2024 season is Shikhar Dhawan as well.
Sam Curran: (2023)
Having faced an injury setback by Shikhar Dhawan during the IPL 2023, prompted the team management to choose Sam Curran as the stand-in captain. The young English all-rounder captained three games and won two of them. Also Read: Mumbai Indians (MI) All Captains List from 2008 to 2024