Kolkata Knight Riders have appointed Ajinkya Rahane as their captain for the 2025 Indian Premier League season. Rahane replaces Shreyas Iyer, who led KKR to their third IPL title last year before being released and later bought by Punjab Kings for INR 26.75 crore.
Venkatesh Iyer, KKR’s most expensive acquisition this season at INR 23.75 crore, has been named vice-captain. The appointment marks a major turnaround for Rahane, who initially went unsold in the IPL 2025 auction after an underwhelming season with Chennai Super Kings. He later found a team in the accelerated round, with KKR picking him up for his base price of INR 1.50 crore.
Rahane has shown a resurgence in form since then. He played a key role in Mumbai’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy triumph, finishing as the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 469 runs at an average of 58.62 and a strike rate of 164.56.
This will be Rahane’s second stint with KKR, having previously played for the franchise in 2022. That year, he featured in seven matches and scored 133 runs before moving to CSK. With Chennai, he revived his T20 career, contributing 326 runs at a strike rate of 172.49 in their title-winning 2023 campaign.