Ajinkya Rahane will be captain of Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2025

Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have appointed Ajinkya Rahane as their captain for IPL 2025. Vice-captain has been given to Venkatesh Iyer. "It's an honour to be asked to lead KKR, which has been one of the most successful franchises in the IPL," Rahane said in a team statement. "I think we have an excellent and balanced squad. I am eager to collaborate with all of you and take on the challenge of defending our title." Based on KKR's strategy at the IPL mega auction last November, Rahane may not have been part of their initial plans, going by how the bidding unfolded. On the first day of the auction, when his name came up, he wasn't sold. On the second day, just before the auction ended, when his name came up again as part of the accelerated round, KKR bought him for his base price of INR 1.5 crore. "We are delighted to have someone like Ajinkya Rahane, who brings his experience and maturity as a leader," KKR chief executive Venky Mysore said. "Also, Venkatesh Iyer 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 defense of our title." This will be Rahane's second stint at KKR, having played for them in 2022, when he scored only 133 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of 103.90. After that, Rahane found renewed success with Chennai Super Kings (CSK), where he scored 326 runs in 2023 at a strike rate of 172.48. IPL 2024 wasn't as productive for Rahane and he was released by CSK after making 242 runs at a strike rate of 123.46 last year. Rahane's leadership has been highly rated in the past - he was captain when India won a Test series in Australia in 2020-21 - and he is respected on the domestic circuit where he has led Mumbai to several titles, most recently the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Rahane was the highest run-scorer in that tournament - 469 runs at a strike rate of 164.56 and an average of over 58. He has skippered 25 matches in the IPL, including one for Rising Pune Super Giants in 2017 and 24 for Rajasthan Royals in 2018 and 2019. He was replaced by Steven Smith midway through the 2019 season. Iyer, after not being one of KKR's six retained players ahead of November's mega auction, was bought back by the franchise for INR 23.75 crore. He was the fourth-most expensive purchase in IPL auction history. KKR is Iyer's only franchise in the IPL so far. He has been with them since 2021. He was a key player in their title-winning campaign last year, scoring 370 runs at a strike rate of 158.79. In a recent interview with , he said he was "definitely ready" to lead KKR if offered the captaincy. KKR are hosting the season opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Eden Gardens on March 22 by virtue of having won the title in 2024. They beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in last year's final - their third title - under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer, who was not retained and is now captain of Punjab Kings (PBKS). WithKKR announcing Rahane, the only team yet to name a captain is Delhi Capitals (DC). Rishabh Pant had led DC last year but was not retained and will lead his new team Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in IPL 2025.