According to the franchise CEO, Rahane was the perfect choice because of his extensive background as a player and captain.
According to franchise CEO Venky Mysore, Ajinkya Rahane was the obvious option to head the reigning champion Kolkata Knight Riders because of his extensive experience and “maturity” in managing a competition as “intense” as the IPL.
Alongside India and Madhya Pradesh all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, Rahane was a candidate for the captaincy. After the 2024 season, Venkatesh was released, but KKR purchased him back at auction for INR 23.75 crore, or roughly $2.3 million. Despite Venkatesh’s recent declaration that he was prepared to assume captaincy if given the opportunity, KKR ultimately selected Rahane for the position, and Venkatesh was appointed as his deputy.
Shreyas Iyer led KKR to the 2024 IPL championship, but they were unable to hold onto him after he decided to go back to auction, where Punjab Kings purchased him. Interestingly, Rahane had not been sold at the initial call, despite being the first player to appear on the second day of the auction in November. When teams had a chance to call back certain unsold players at the end of the auction, KKR ultimately acquired Rahane for his base price of INR 1.5 crore ($180,000 approximately).
Rahane played seven games for KKR in the 2022 Indian Premier League, where they ended in seventh place. This is his second spell with the team. Rahane is one of the few players who have played in the IPL since its launch in 2008 and has represented six different teams. Rahane is one of the most successful captains in domestic cricket, has led in 25 games for two IPL teams—once at Rising Pune Supergiant and the other at Rajasthan Royals—and has some experience leading India as captain (having won eight of 11 games across forms).
Mysore thinks that KKR can only benefit from such a plethora of experience. “He has played 185 IPL games, 200 international games across formats,” Mysore stated. “He has led Mumbai in the domestic league, led India, and led the IPL. He also participated in the first season of the IPL. All of that is enormous. Rahane’s appointment as captain shouldn’t come as a surprise.
“You can’t undervalue captaincy. I’ll be in my fifteenth season, so I’ve seen a lot. It’s not only about your on-field performance. The IPL involves a lot of [other] things, such as handling the media, and there will be expectations regarding the captain. However, it’s a fresh cycle, the squad is diverse, and if you want to be a good captain, you must make an effort to get to know everyone so you can know how to bring out the best in them. There’s also the preparatory material, which includes camps, meetings for batters and bowlers, and communication with coaches.From that angle, we are fortunate to have Ajinkya, who will be very helpful to us. Not just as a batsman, which is undeniable, but also as a skipper. He has amassed a huge run total.
