‘Everybody threw darts at him’: Former India cricketer names Ajinkya Rahane as best captain of IPL 2026

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane (ANI Photo) Former Indian cricketer and commentator Murali Kartik has endorsed Ajinkya Rahane as the best captain of IPL 2026 and praised the Kolkata Knight Riders skipper for leading a depleted team through a difficult campaign and keeping them in playoff contention till the final day of the league stage.KKR eventually finished seventh in the points table and missed out on the playoffs after Rajasthan Royals’ win over Mumbai Indians ended their hopes. However, Kartik believes Rahane’s leadership deserves credit given the challenges he faced throughout the season. Speaking to Cricbuzz, Kartik pointed to the circumstances surrounding KKR’s campaign, including injuries, player unavailability and criticism leveled at Rahane during the early part of the tournament.“One of the reasons is that half of his squad was gone before he tossed the first coin,” Kartik said.“The other thing is the kind of darts they’ve thrown at him since the start of the season, which wasn’t his fault. There were a lot of players who didn’t perform.“To pick them up from there and almost get them into the qualifiers with a run like that, with a side like that, I’ll give it to him.“Others have settled people around them. They know what they’re doing. But for individuals, everyone was throwing darts at him.”“To come back from that and take the side up, that’s why I’m going with Rahane.Rahane’s second season as KKR captain started in difficult circumstances. Several setbacks hit the franchise even before it found momentum in the tournament. Fast bowler Harshit Rana has missed the entire season following knee surgery, while Akash Deep has been ruled out of the tournament with a lumbar spine injury. Matheesha Pathirana also suffered a hamstring injury and was unavailable for most of the season. He returned to play one match but was injured again after bowling just one. KKR were further affected when Mustafizur Rahman became unavailable ahead of the tournament after BCCI instructed the franchise to release him.The results reflected those struggles early on. KKR did not win any of their first six matches and picked up just one point in a rain-affected match against Punjab Kings. At that stage, their playoff hopes seemed all but over.However, the team produced one of the strongest revivals of the season. KKR have won six of their last eight league matches to force their way back into contention and stay alive in the playoffs until the final day of the league phase.Rahane himself was under intense scrutiny during this period. While he started the season with a blistering 67 off 40 balls, his batting slowed considerably as the tournament progressed. He eventually finished IPL 2026 with 335 runs from 14 matches at an average of 25.76 and a strike rate of 135.08.Despite these modest numbers with the bat, Kartik believes Rahane’s biggest contribution has come as a leader. Managing an injury-hit team, handling outside criticism and overseeing a remarkable turnaround after a disastrous start were among the factors that convinced the former India spinner to name the KKR skipper as his captain for the season.