Kolkata Knight Riders: All captains in IPL history

Kolkata Knight Riders have won the IPL thrice.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have been part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) since the inaugural edition in 2008. The franchise is one of the most successful in the competition’s history, with three titles to their name.

In 17 seasons, KKR have had eight different captains and have reached the playoffs eight times. Sourav Ganguly was the franchise’s first captain, leading them in 27 matches, winning 13, and losing 14 of these contests.

The franchise struggled in the first three seasons of the league, finishing sixth, eighth, and sixth respectively. Their fortunes changed when Gautam Gambhir was handed the captaincy in 2011.

Under Gambhir’s leadership, they reached their first IPL playoffs in 2011, where they were defeated by Mumbai Indians. However, the team bounced back from the setback and clinched the title in the 2012 edition by defeating Chennai Super Kings in a historic final.

Gambhir once again led KKR to the title in 2014, where they defeated Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) while chasing a massive 200-run target at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.

Post Gambhir, the franchise appointed Dinesh Karthik as their captain in 2018. While the team showed promise, they were eliminated in Qualifier 2 in his first season as captain in 2018. The 2019 and 2020 editions saw the team not making to the playoff.

The franchise finished as runners-up in IPL 2021 under Eoin Morgan, however, glory came again in 2024 under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer. The franchise dominated the season, finishing first in the league table. They then defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad in both Qualifier 1 and the final to clinch the title.

Iyer was, however, shockingly released by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

Here is the list of all Kolkata Knight Riders captain in IPL:

Ajinkya Rahane has become the latest to join the list. He has been appointed as KKR’s captain for IPL 2025.

Player	Span	Matches	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	NR
Sourav Ganguly	2008-2010	27	13	14	0	0	0
Brendon McCullum	2009-2009	13	3	9	1	0	0
Gautam Gambhir	2011-2017	122	69	51	1	0	1
Jacques Kallis	2011-2011	2	1	1	0	0	0
Dinesh Karthik	2018-2020	37	19	17	1	0	0
Eoin Morgan	2020-2021	24	11	12	1	0	0
Shreyas Iyer	2022-2024	29	17	11	0	1	0
Nitish Rana	2023-2023	14	6	8	0	0	0
Ajinkya Rahane	2025 –	0	0	0	0	0	0

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