Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday announced Ajinkya Rahane as the captain and Venkatesh Iyer as his deputy for the upcoming 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). (More Cricket News)
Rahane, who played for KKR in the 2021 season, was bought at this year's IPL auction at his base price of Rs 1.5 crore. Interestingly, the India veteran had gone unsold in the auction only to be signed at base price later in the accelerated round.
All-rounder Iyer was brought on board by KKR as the third highest-paid player at the auction for Rs 23.75 crore.
Rahane succeeds Shreyas Iyer as the captain at the franchise. Iyer is now with Punjab Kings as the second-highest paid player in IPL history. Rahane comes into the IPL on the back of a solid Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where he scored 469 runs at an average of 58.62 and a strike rate of 164.56. However, last season, he had a poor IPL with CSK and his previous one-year stint with KKR in 2021 too had been underwhelming.
Rahane had captained Rajasthan Royals for the 2018 and 2019 seasons and led them to the play-offs in 2018.
Accepting the leadership role, Rahane said, “It라이브 바카라 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.”
Making the announcement, Venky Mysore, CEO of of the franchise said, “We are delighted to have someone like Ajinkya Rahane, who brings his experience and maturity as a leader. 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.”
The defending champions will begin their IPL 2025 campaign with the season opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Eden Gardens on Saturday, March 22.
