Ajinkya Rahane will captain Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2025.
Kolkata Knight Riders CEO Venky Mysore has made a big revelation. He has told why the franchise appointed Ajinkya Rahane as captain instead of Venkatesh Iyer. Last season Shreyas Iyer was the captain of the team and he also made the team champion, but the franchise neither retained him nor bought him in the auction.
In such a situation, before the announcement of the new captain, such news was coming out that Venkatesh Iyer could be made the new captain of the team. Iyer was bought by KKR for Rs 23.75 crore. However, the captaincy for the next season was handed over to Ajinkya Rahane, who was bought for Rs 1.5 crore. At the same time, Venkatesh Iyer will be the vice-captain.
KKR CEO Venky Mysore made a big revelation about Ajinkya Rahane
KKR CEO Venky Mysore said about the captaincy that the management decided to choose Rahane to ensure that the captaincy does not become burdensome for Iyer. Venky Mysore told ESPNcricinfo, “IPL is a very exciting tournament. Obviously, we think very highly of Venkatesh Iyer, but at the same time, it (captaincy) is very tough for a young player.
We have seen that a lot of people face a lot of challenges (in taking over captaincy) as they move forward. It requires a very steady hand, a lot of maturity and experience, which we felt Ajinkya Rahane brings with him.” This will be the second time Ajinkya Rahane will play for KKR.
Mysore believes Rahane’s experience can prove beneficial for the defending champions. “He has played 185 IPL matches and 200 international matches across formats. He has captained India, captained Mumbai in domestic matches and captained in the IPL as well. Apart from that, he has been playing since the first season of the IPL. All this is a huge thing. It should not be a surprise,” he said.