IPL 2025: Who is the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders?

The IPL 2025 captain of the reigning champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is Ajinkya Rahane. The new vice-captain is Venkatesh Iyer. This comes after KKR let Shreyas Iyer, their IPL 2024 winning captain, go ahead of the IPL mega auction.

Rahane might not have been in KKR's original intentions, based on the way the bidding went at the IPL mega auction last November.

When his name appeared for the first time on the first day of the auction, he was unsold, and only when his name appeared again as part of the expedited round on the second day, right before the auction concluded, was he purchased by KKR at his base price of INR 1.5 crore.

Who is the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders for IPL 2025?

Ajinkya Rahane has vast experience of captaincy, not only in domestic cricket but in international cricket as well. He has captained India in all three formats, including the famous 2020-21 Test series against Australia down under as well. India won that Test series 1-2 with Rahane as captain and Virat Kohli absent after the first Test.

Rahane had previously played for KKR in 2022, scoring just 133 runs with a strike rate of 103.90 in seven games. This will be his second stint with the KKR team.  He has captained the Rising Pune Super Giants in 2017 and the Rajasthan Royals in 2018 and 2019, for a total of 25 IPL games.

Rahane had a comeback with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) following that year, scoring 326 runs at a strike rate of 172.48 in 2023. Rahane's IPL 2024 performance was lacking, as he was let go by CSK after scoring 242 runs with a strike rate of 123.46 the previous season.

He has guided Mumbai to multiple championships, including the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2024–25. Rahane scored 469 runs at a strike rate of 164.56 and an average of more than 58, making him the tournament's top scorer.

Because they won the title in 2024, KKR will host the season opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Eden Gardens on March 22.

The Delhi Capitals (DC) are the only side without a captain after KKR announced Rahane. After leading DC the previous season, Rishabh Pant was let go and will now play for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the 2025 Indian Premier League.

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