IPL 2025: KKR appoint Ajinkya Rahane as captain, Venkatesh Iyer to be his deputy

Ajinkya Rahane will lead KKR in IPL 2025.

Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Monday, March 3, announced Ajinkya Rahane as captain and Venkatesh Iyer as vice-captain for the upcoming 2025 season of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL).

After winning the IPL in 2024 season under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy, KKR parted ways with him before the Mega Auction, where they acquired the services of Ajinkya Rahane and broke bank to retain Venkatesh Iyer for a hefty amount of INR 23.75 crores.

Making the announcement, Venky Mysore, CEO of KKR said, “We are delighted to have someone like Ajinkya Rahane, who brings his experience and maturity as a leader. Also, Venkatesh Iyer has been a franchise player for KKR and brings a lot of leadership qualities. We are confident that they will combine well as we start the defense of our title.”

Accepting the leadership role, Rahane said, “It’s an honour to be asked to lead KKR, which has been one of the most successful franchises in the IPL. I think we have an excellent and balanced squad. I look forward to working with everyone and taking up the challenge of defending our title.”

Ajinkya Rahane will become ninth player to captain KKR in the IPL. He’ll join the likes of Sourav Ganguly, Brendon McCullum, Gautam Gambhir, Jacques Kallis, Dinesh Karthik, Eoin Morgan, Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana in captaining the franchise in the IPL.

KKR will begin their TATA IPL 2025 campaign with the season opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Eden Gardens on Saturday, March 22.

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