The IPL 2025 captain of the reigning champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is Ajinkya Rahane. The new vice-captain is Venkatesh Iyer.
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.
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 team. Rahane had a comeback with the Chennai Super Kings after 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.
In the local circuit, Rahane has led Mumbai to multiple victories, most recently the 2024–25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. His leadership has also been highly regarded in the past; in 2020–21, he was captain when India won a Test series in Australia. 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.
He has captained the Rising Pune Super Giants in 2017 and the Rajasthan Royals in 2018–19, for a total of 25 IPL games. In the middle of the 2019 season, Steve Smith took his place.
