KKR big announcement ajinkya rahane becomes captain, venkatesh iyer vice captain
KKR announces captain and vice captain for IPL 2025. IPL season 18 will start on March 22. Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will face each other in the first match. The 2025 edition of IPL is going to be held after the mega action of 2024. So, there has been a change in the players in the action. Now, ahead of IPL 2025, KKR has announced the names of its captain and vice captain.
Ajinkya Rahane will lead KKR in the 2025 IPL. Venkatesh Iyer will also serve as his deputy. Rahane was bought by KKR for a base price of Rs 1.5 crore. But Venkatesh Iyer was brought to them for a record price of Rs 23.75 crore. Shreyas Iyer was bought by Punjab for Rs 26.75 crore, and Rishabh Pant was bought by Lucknow for a record price of Rs 27 crore. Venkatesh Iyer was sold as the third most expensive player during the auction. Now he has been given the responsibility of KKR’s Guru.
He also expressed his gratitude for giving Rahane the captaincy of KKR. He said, “It is an honor to be allowed to lead one of the most successful teams like KKR. I think we have a talented and balanced squad. I am excited to work with everyone. I am ready to face the challenges required to defend the title. you also read this Who is the IPL NO.1 Team ?
As per the strategy of KKR during the mega auction, Rahane was not on the franchise’s list. For this reason, the franchise did not buy Rahane in the first round. The other nine teams also did not show interest in buying him. But when his name came up in the second round, KKR bought him for a base price of 1.50 crores. Now he is in demand by the franchise team. It is known that KKR has taken this decision keeping in mind Rahane’s experience and strength.
This is Rahane’s second inning for KKR. He played for KKR in 2022 as well. Rahane could only score 133 runs in 7 matches in this edition. A year later, he played for the Chennai Super Kings and scored 326 runs at a strike rate of 172.48. But in 2024, he scored 242 runs at a strike rate of 123.46 and was released by Chennai before the mega auction. you also read this KKR Player List For IPL 2025
Rahane has been the leading run scorer for Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this year. He scored 469 runs at a strike rate of 164.56 as Mumbai became champions. He has also been consistently scoring runs in Ranji matches. So, this is expected to definitely help KKR in the IPL.
Rahane once captained the Rajasthan Royals. He captained the team in 24 matches and led Pune Super Giants in one match. Rahane has lost 16 of his 25 matches as captain. So his statistics as captain are not at all satisfactory. He disappointed everyone as Rajasthan captain in 2018-19 and was removed, and Steve Smith took over the reins of the team. Smith became the captain of Rajasthan in 2019.
On the other hand, Venkatesh Iyer is a talented young player. He was bought by KKR for Rs 23.75 crore, becoming the fourth most expensive player in IPL history. Iyer started his IPL journey with KKR. He has been with KKR since 2021. Venkatesh Iyer played a key role in KKR winning the trophy in 2024. He scored 370 runs at a strike rate of 158.79.
