The defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), have announced Ajinkya Rahane as their new captain for the upcoming IPL 2025 season. Rahane takes over the captaincy from Shreyas Iyer, who led KKR to their third IPL title last year. Iyer was released by KKR and subsequently bought by Punjab Kings for a record sum of INR 26.75 Crore. Meanwhile, Venkatesh Iyer has been named as Rahane’s vice-captain.
Following his appointment, Rahane expressed, “It is a great honor to be asked to captain KKR, one of the most successful franchises in the IPL. I believe we have a very strong and well-rounded team. I am looking forward to working with everyone and taking on the challenge of defending our title.”
This development marks a significant shift for the experienced Indian batsman. Rahane initially found no buyers in the auction after a less impressive season with Chennai Super Kings, where he scored 242 runs in 13 innings. However, KKR picked him up in the accelerated round for his base price of INR 1.50 Crore.
Since then, Rahane’s performance has shown considerable improvement. He played a vital role in Mumbai’s victory in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament. He was the top scorer in the tournament with 469 runs, averaging 58.62 with an impressive strike rate of 164.56.
Venky Mysore, CEO of KKR, stated, “We are very pleased to have someone of Ajinkya Rahane’s caliber, who brings his wealth of experience and leadership to the team. Venkatesh Iyer has also been an integral part of KKR and possesses strong leadership qualities. We are confident that they will work well together as we begin our title defense.”
This is Rahane’s second tenure with KKR, having been previously acquired before the 2022 season. He played in seven games that year, scoring only 133 runs. He then moved to CSK, where he rediscovered his form and reputation in the tournament. He was a valuable top-order batsman in their title-winning campaign, scoring 326 runs at a strike rate of 172.49.
Rahane has prior captaincy experience in the IPL, having played in the league since its inception in 2008. He captained the Rising Pune Giants in one match in the 2017 season and then led Rajasthan Royals for 24 matches in the following season. In the 2019 season, he was replaced by Steve Smith as captain mid-season. He has captained in 25 IPL matches, with 9 wins and 16 losses.
Regarding Venkatesh Iyer’s appointment as vice-captain, KKR competed with RCB to secure his services for a price that was the fourth highest in IPL auction history. KKR initially signed Venkatesh in 2021 for his base price of 20 Lakh. In the second half of the 2021 season, played in the UAE, Venkatesh proved to be a crucial top-order batsman, scoring 370 runs in 10 innings. He was retained for INR 8 crore before the 2022 mega auction. In the 2023 season, he hit a century off 51 balls against Mumbai Indians, becoming only the second KKR batsman to score an IPL century.
With Rahane and Venkatesh leading the team, KKR will commence their title defense with the season opener against RCB on March 22 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
