Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders have announced their captain for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Experienced campaigner Ajinkya Rahane has been handed the leadership of the franchise with Venkatesh Iyer being named as the vice-captain.
Ajinkya Rahane was in contention to lead the Kolkata Knight Riders along with Venkatesh Iyer. The two had been in the news for a long and were the only two players who were seen as potential leaders. However, it was the senior batter who got the nod ahead.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) came in need of a captain after Shreyas Iyer parted ways with the franchise ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. The two parties couldn’t reach a conclusion related to the price tag, and hence, the IPL-winning captain was released from the squad.
Ajinkya Rahane was brought by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 1.50 crores in IPL 2025 auction
Ahead of the auction, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made six retentions in Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana, and Ramandeep Singh. It was expected that they would pick some captaincy option in the IPL 2025 auction, but that wasn’t the case either.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) brought some match winners with Venkatesh Iyer being the costliest buy. The all-rounder, who has been part of the franchise for the last few years, was acquired by the team for the whopping amount of INR 23.75 crore, and with him getting this much money, there were a lot of rumors about him taking over the captaincy.
Rahane, on the other hand, was brought by fthe ranchise for INR 1.50 crores and was considered for the captaincy role because of his rich experience. The batter has been a stalwart in domestic cricket and has guided Mumbai to many wins. He also captained the India National Cricket Team, and it was under him when the team won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2020-21 in Australia.
We are delighted to have someone like Ajinkya Rahane, who brings his experience and maturity as a leader – Venky Mysore
Talking about the decision to name Ajinkya Rahane as the captain of KKR, CEO Venky Mysore said that the batter brings experience and maturity as a leader. He also talked about Venkatesh Iyer being named as vice-captain, expressing confidence in the duo to combine and bring glory.
Speaking in an official statement, he said: “We are delighted to have someone like Ajinkya Rahane, who brings his experience and maturity as a leader. Also Venkatesh lyer has been a franchise player for KKR and brings a lot of leadership qualities.We are confident that they will combine well as we start the defence of our title.”
I look forward to working with everyone and taking up the challenge of defending our title – Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane has earlier captained Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and had a decent success with them. The veteran batter expressed his confidence in leading the team to the title and said:
“It’s an honour to be asked to lead KKR, which has been one of the most successful franchises in the IPL. I think we have an excellent and balanced squad. I look forward to working with everyone and taking up the challenge of defending our title.”
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