IPL 2025: Rahane Leads KKR’s Charge, Venkatesh Iyer as His Deputy

Rahane Honored to Lead KKR

Ajinkya Rahane said it was an honour to be appointed as captain of defending champions KKR, as the team has been one of the most successful in the IPL. He added that the squad is well-controlled and that he is excited to work with the team to defend the title. Rahane was acquired by KKR for his base price of INR  crore in the accelerated round of the Mega IPL Auction. Meanwhile, Venkatesh was retained by KKR for INR 23.75 crore, making him the third most expensive player in the auction.

The CEO of KKR, Venky Mysore, said in a statement that the team is advised to have Ajinkya Rahane, whose experience and maturity as a leader will be valuable. He also stated that Venkatesh Iyer, an important player for KKR, possesses strong leadership qualities. Confidence was expressed that both will collaborate well as the team starts its title defense.

This will be Rahane’s second season with KKR, as he previously played for the team in 2022. That year, he was selected for only seven matches and scored 133 runs. KKR, with three titles (2012, 2014, 2024), will start their IPL 2025 campaign with the season opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at Eden Gardens on Saturday, March 22.

KKR’s Strong Lineup for IPL 2025 Announced

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad for IPL 2025 has been finalized. The team consisted of Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine, Andre Rusell, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah gurbaz, Anrich Nortje, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Spencer Johnson, Luvnith Sisodia, Ajinkya Rahane, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, and Urman Malik.