 "Ajinkya Rahane had previously represented Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2022 under Shreyas Iyer's captaincy, playing seven matches across the season. Image credit: Kolkata Knight Riders")
After getting picked by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at his base price of Rs 1.5 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction in Jeddah , Ajinkya Rahane has emerged a strong candidate to lead the defending champions next year. According to a report on The Times of India, the Knight Riders had bought the 36-year-old batter “specifically” for the purpose of leading the side after they decided against retaining Shreyas Iyer, who had led them to victory in the 17th season earlier this year.
“Yes, at the moment it’s 90 per cent confirmed that Ajinkya will be the new KKR captain. He was bought by KKR specially for the purpose of being a viable captaincy option,” a source was quoted as saying in the report.
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All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer was widely believed to be KKR’s next captain after he was bought back by the franchise for a staggering amount of Rs 23.75 crore, which made him the third most expensive player in the auction after Rishabh Pant (Rs 27 crore, Lucknow Super Giants) and Shreyas (Rs 26.75 crore, Punjab Kings) and the fourth-most expensive player in the history of the league.
However, Venkatesh being untested as a leader is what might have prompted the Knight Riders to bring Rahane, who played one season for KKR in 2022 under Shreyas’ leadership, back into the side. Given he’s in his late 30s, Rahane isn’t likely to lead KKR for more than a season or two, which should give the team management enough time to zero in on their next long-term captain.
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The fact that Rahane had also reinvented himself as a batter recently, smashing 326 runs at a strike rate of 172.49 during Chennai Super Kings’ title-winning run in 2023, could also be a major reason why KKR decided to invest in him.
Having already spent more than 20 crore on Venkatesh, the Knight Riders would have been on the hunt for a captain who would not have cost them a fortune but could also contribute as a player. And Rahane, who had previously led Rajasthan Royals for two seasons after their return from a two-year suspension in 2018, would have fit the bill perfectly.
Though he did not get an extended spell as India captain the way MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma did, Rahane enjoys an undefeated record as captain in Tests and ODIs, with India winning seven games out of nine and drawing two.
The Mumbaikar, though, is mainly remembered for masterminding India’s epic triumph in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, in which the side fought back from a disastrous defeat in the first Test to pull off a 2-1 series victory.