IPL 2025: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) schedule, squad, venues, timings and all you need to know

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will feature in the first match of IPL 2025 on March 22 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had an incredible campaign in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 edition, and they ended their trophy drought of a decade to clinch their third IPL title. Now, the responsibility will be more as KKR are all set to defend their title in the 18th edition of the IPL.

The reigning champions will be led by new captain Ajinkya Rahane. They will work under mentorship of Dwayne Bravo this time around as their mentor from last season Gautam Gambhir quit to pursue his career as Indian Cricket Team head coach. That is where the challenge will be more. Despite all this, KKR had a great outing at the auction and compiled one of the good teams on paper.

The defending champions will feature in the tournament’s opener, where they will lock horns with Royal Challengers Bengaluru on March 22 (Saturday) at the Eden Gardens. This will kick off the campaign, and they will surely look to win their fourth title in the IPL 2025.

IPL 2025: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL 2024

The IPL 2024 saw the return of former KKR captain Gautam Gambhir as mentor, who won them two titles. That changed the whole scenario. Sunil Narine was back at the top, and he, along with Phil Salt, were unstoppable as an opening pair. Then, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Mitchell Starc, Andre Russell, and Narine made a formidable bowling unit. The contributions from captain Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz helped the team. KKR dominated the group stage and won the Qualifier 1 and final against SRH to lift the title.

IPL 2025: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) full schedule for IPL 2025

Match 1: (March 22) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Kolkata, Eden Gardens – 7:30 PM IST

Match 2: (March 26)Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Rajasthan Royals (RR), Guwahati, Barsapara Cricket Stadium – 7:30 PM IST

Match 3: (March 31) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Mumbai Indians (MI), Mumbai, Wankhede Stadium – 7:30 PM IST

Match 4: (April 3) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Kolkata, Eden Gardens – 7:30 PM IST

Match 5: (April 6) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Kolkata, Eden Gardens – 3:30 PM IST

Match 6: (April 11) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Chennai, MA Chidambaram Stadium – 7:30 PM IST

Match 7: (April 15) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Punjab Kings (PBKS), New Chandigarh, New PCA Stadium – 7:30 PM IST

Match 8: (April 21) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Gujarat Titans (GT), Kolkata, Eden Gardens – 7:30 PM IST

Match 9: (April 26) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Punjab Kings (PBKS), Kolkata, Eden Gardens, 7:30 PM IST

Match 10: (April 29) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Delhi Capitals (DC), Delhi, Arun Jaitley Stadium – 7:30 PM IST

Match 11: (May 4) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Rajasthan Royals (RR), Kolkata, Eden Gardens – 3:30 PM IST

Match 12: (May 7)Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Kolkata, Eden Gardens – 7:30 PM IST

Match 13: (May 10) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Hyderabad, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium – 3:30 PM IST

Match 14: (May 17) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Bengaluru, M Chinnaswamy Stadium – 7:30 PM IST

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) retained players before IPL 2025

Rinku Singh (13 Cr), Varun Chakravarthy (12 Cr), Sunil Narine (12 Cr), Andre Russell (12 Cr), Harshit Rana (4 Cr) and Ramandeep Singh (4 Cr)

Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) IPL 2025 auction buys

Venkatesh Iyer (INR 23.75 Cr), Ajinkya Rahane (INR 1.50 Cr), Quinton de Kock (INR 3.60 Cr), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (INR 2 Cr), Anrich Nortje (INR 6.50 Cr), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (INR 3 Cr), Vaibhav Arora (INR 1.80 Cr), Mayank Markande (INR 30 lakhs), Manish Pandey (INR 75 lakhs), Rovman Powell (INR 1.50 Cr), Luvnith Sisodia (INR 30 lakhs), Anukul Roy (INR 40 lakhs), Spencer Johnson (INR 2.80 Cr), Moeen Ali (INR 2 Cr), Umran Malik (INR 75 lakhs).

Note: Umran Malik has been ruled out of the tournament and Chetan Sakariya has replaced him in KKR squad.

IPL 2025: Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) full squad

Ajinkya Rahane (C), Sunil Narine, Rinku Singh, Quinton de Kock (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Wk), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Luvnith Sisodia, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Spencer Johnson, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy

When to watch Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) IPL 2025 matches? Timing details

KKR will play two afternoon matches in IPL 2025, which will begin at 3:30 PM IST. Their first afternoon game is against LSG on April 6, while their second afternoon match is on May 4 against RR. All of their remaining 12 league stage matches will have a start time of 7:30 PM in the evening.

Where to watch Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) IPL 2025 matches? Live streaming details

India: TV: Star Sports Network || Digital: JioHotstar App or Website

IPL 2025: Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) venues

KKR will play their seven home matches in Kolkata, and their remaining seven games will be played in Guwahati, Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

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