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this Kolkata Knight Rider (KKR) Recent naming Ajinkya Rahane As their captain IPL 2025 Season, there is Venkatesh Iyer As deputy captain. The decision sparked discussions among fans and analysts, especially given Iyer’s record auction price and his interest in leading the team. KKR CEO ahead of the upcoming cash-rich league season Venky Mysore Revealed the reasoning behind the franchise choice recently.
Venky Mysore explains why Ajinkya Rahane was appointed captain
Rahane is an experienced cricketer with experience in leadership, and is considered an ideal candidate to guide KKR through a high-pressure IPL season. Rahane has previously served as India captain in Test cricket, most notably the team has won historic series in Australia in the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In addition, he is also a captain in the IPL at Rajasthan Royals.
In addition, in domestic cricket, Rahane has been in a stellar state, resulting in Mumbai winning the titles of the Iran Cup and the Said Mushtak Ali Trophy. He has performed very well in the T20, scoring 469 in eight innings during the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy, with an average of 58.62 and a batting average of 164.56. These achievements underscore his ability to lead by example and off-field.
“It takes a very stable hand, it takes a lot of maturity and experience, and we feel Ajinkya brings him. He has played 185 IPL games on the format, which is 200 international games. He leads India, leads domestic Mumbai, and he leads IPL. He plays since the first season of the IPL. All of this is huge. Not at all. From this perspective, we are lucky that we got Ajinkya and it will be great for us. Not only like the captain, no doubt, but also like the batsman. He scores a lot of runs.” Mysore, quoted by Espncricinfo, said.
Please read also: From Sourav Ganguly to Ajinkya Rahane: A complete list of captains of KKR in IPL history
Why is Venkatesh Iyer not in the role of captain?
Venkatesh, who was KKR’s most expensive INR 23.75 billion purchase during IPL 2025 Mega Auction, publicly expressed his willingness to take on the captain role. However, Mysore clarified that while Iyer is highly valued by the franchise and has leadership potential, they want to make sure he can focus on his game without adding to the pressure on the captain.
“The IPL is a fierce game. Obviously, we think Venkatesh Iyer is very good, but at the same time, it (the captain) is taxing young people. We have seen a lot of people facing a lot of challenges as they move forward (handling the captain),” Mysore added.
