After winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) championship in 2024, Kolkata Knight Riders had to part ways with their captain Shreyas Iyer ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. Shreyas was eventually purchased by Punjab Kings and KKR had two candidates coming out of the auction whom they can choose as captain. One of them was veteran Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane who has played for the franchise in the past and led in IPL before. Another was Venkatesh Iyer, who was bought for a whopping 23.75 Crore INR. The high price tag definitely indicated that KKR is identifying him as a future leader. Although on March 3, 2025, KKR announced Ajinkya Rahane as the captain for the upcoming IPL 2025.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천슬롯사이트Honored and Excited슬롯사이트�슬롯사이트� Ajinkya Rahane Reacts After Becoming New Captain of Kolkata Knight Riders for IPL 2025 Season (See Post).

Rahane doesn't have a good captaincy record behind him despite leading Rising Pune Supergiant and Rajasthan Royals for a combined 25 times. He made the playoffs as captain only once in 2018. Given his age, a new captain would have made more sense. Fans eager to know why KKR preferred Rahane over Venkatesh Iyer as KKR captain will get the entire information here.

Why Ajinkya Rahane Was Preferred As KKR Captain Over Venkatesh Iyer?

1. Experience: KKR is just coming out of a season where they have won the IPL title. In the past, they have opted to give leadership duties to players who had little to no captaincy experience and that didn't work in their favour. The management did good work in the auction to retain the majority of their champion squad from 2024. To push for another title, they needed someone who could take over the captaincy immediately and would not take much time easing their way. That is where Rahane fits perfectly as he adds a lot of captaincy experience across competitions.

2. Taking Pressure off Venkatesh Iyer: Venkatesh Iyer is one of the premier batters of KKR in their current setup after the mega auction of IPL 2025. Given he has to score runs for KKR to do well in the competition and he was bought for a very high amount of 23.75 Crores, he can be under pressure when he takes the crease. Known as a fearless and aggressive cricketer, the additional pressure of a price tag, the demand of runs and captaincy can bog him down. That is why Rahane was preferred over Venkatesh so that the latter can stay free off the thoughts. With Rahane around, Venkatesh can be groomed as a captain for the future.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천슬롯 머신 사이트 추천List of KKR Captains in IPL: Check Names of Skippers of Kolkata Knight Riders in Indian Premier League As Ajinkya Rahane Is Named New Skipper for Season 18.

3. Batting Form of Ajinkya Rahane: Rahane has been in impeccable form with the bat in the domestic season, especially in the T20 competition Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25 where he helped Mumbai win the title and was adjudged as the player of the competition.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천 Playing his 11th season, this was veteran Mumbai batter Ajinkya Rahane's best SMAT season ever. Rahane, whose previous best saw him scoring 286 runs three years ago, averaged 58.62 and scored at 164.56 across eight innings this season. This was another reason why KKR handed him leadership duties because if he fires with the bat, no one else can be a better leader than him.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 04, 2025 12:38 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).