The Kolkata Knight Riders team has made a big announcement today, declared experienced cricketer Ajinkya Rahane as its new captain. Star all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, who was bought for Rs 23.75 crore, has been given the responsibility of vice-captain.
Ajinkya Rahane will take charge of current champion KKR in IPL 2025
The KKR team, which won the IPL title last season under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer, was looking for a new captain. After Shreyas left the team, the big question in the minds of the fans was that who will take charge of the champion team? Now the answer to this question has been found.
Putting an end to the speculations that have been going on for several weeks, KKR has decided to make Ajinkya Rahane the captain and Venkatesh Iyer as the vice-captain. The names of both the players were being discussed for a long time, but finally senior player Rahane was put forward.
After last season, there was a rift between Shreyas Iyer and the KKR team regarding the contract. Both the parties could not agree on the money and in the end the IPL winning captain was shown the way out of the team. Since then, KKR was looking for a new captain.
Rahane was bought by KKR for just Rs 1.50 crore in the IPL 2025 auction. At the same time, Venkatesh Iyer became the most expensive purchase of the team. The team had included this all-rounder for Rs 23.75 crore. After being bought for such a huge amount, fans believed that Venkatesh would be the new captain of the team, but KKR management gave Rahane a chance on the basis of experience.
Expressing his happiness after getting the captaincy, Rahane said,
“It is an honor to get the opportunity to lead KKR, which is one of the most successful teams in the IPL. We have a great and balanced team. I am ready to work together with all the players and take up the challenge of defending our title.”
However, Rahane has previously captained Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. This batsman, who has also captained the Indian cricket team, led Team India to a memorable Border-Gavaskar Trophy win in Australia in 2020-21. Even in domestic cricket, he has captained Mumbai several times victoriously.
KKR CEO Venky Mysore said on the captaincy decision,
“We are happy to have a player like Ajinkya Rahane, who brings his experience and maturity as a leader. Venkatesh Iyer has also been a franchise player for KKR and has a lot of leadership qualities. We are confident that both of them together will do a good job in defending our title.”
