Ajinkya Rahane has emerged as a surprise frontrunner to lead the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2025.
Rahane was bought by KKR for his base price of Rs 1.5 crore (rs 15 million) at the auction in Jeddah last Monday. The 36-year-old batter initially found no takers when his name first came up, before KKR bought him late on the second day.
From nearly going unsold at the auction to become a captaincy candidate for the IPL champions, Rahane's career is set to witness a remarkable turnaround.
KKR decided against retaining Shreyas Iyer, who led them to the IPL 2024 title, before he was bought by Punjab Kings for a record Rs 26.75 crore (Rs 267.5 million) at the auction.
'Yes, at the moment it's 90% confirmed that Ajinkya will be the new KKR captain. He was bought by KKR specifically for the purpose of being a viable captaincy option,' a source told The Times of India newspaper.
Venkatesh Iyer, who was bought by KKR for a whopping Rs 23.75 crore (Rs 237.5 million) at the IPL auction, is another candidate to lead the franchise next season. The all-rounder said he was ready to take up the challenge if he was given the captaincy.
'I've always believed that captaincy is just a tag, but leadership is about creating an environment where everyone feels they can play for this team and contribute. If given the responsibility, I would be more than happy to take it on,' Venki said.
'Together, we will aim to defend the championship and continue our winning campaign. Thank you very much for picking me in your squad,' added.
Shreyas, interestingly, replaced Rahane as Mumbai captain for the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament. Rahane played for CSK in the last two seasons. He scored 326 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 172 in IPL 2023 but struggled last season with 242 runs from 13 games at a strike rate of 123 and was released ahead of the auction.
