Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan’s owned team KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) has built a good team this time. But the problem is they don’t have notable candidates for the role of captain. However, many of them are making their wild guesses about whether the franchise would make any one of their costliest player as the skipper. It could be anyone amongst Venkatesh Iyer (INR 23.75 crore) or Rinku Singh (INR 18 crore) but that might not be the reality for Indian Premier League IPL 2025.
There are possibilities for 2 players to become the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), that could be Sunil Narine, who has been playing for KKR ever since 2012. And, another name that pops out along to this is Ajinkya Rahane who has showcased a stunning play for Mumbai in the SMAT (Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy) 2024-25.
Sunil Narine Chances to Become KKR Captain
People don’t seem to have hopes about Sunil Narine as KKR’s captain and the reason is valid too. Because most of the franchises intentionally don’t make an overseas cricketer their team captain.
But when it comes to Sunil Narine, it is completely different because he is Kolkata Knight Rider’s most-capped player. Although Andre Russell had played 126 matches for KKR, Sunil surpasses this count to the top, having played 186 matches for Shahrukh Khan’s IPL franchise.
In addition to that, Sunil Narine is the 7th highest-run scorer of KKR, though he has not been a batsman for the majority of his career. Moreover, Sunil bagged 200+ wickets for Kolkata Knight Riders, which also includes the Champions League T20.
Integrated with Kolkata Knight Riders
The 36-year-old West Indies cricketer had played for the sibling franchises in other T20 leagues such as:
| Team | T20 Franchise League |
| TKR (Trinbago Knight Riders) | CPL (Caribbean Premier League) |
| LAKR (Los Angeles Knight Riders) | MLC (Major League Cricket) |
| ADKR (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders) | ILT20(International League T20) |
But the most apt word to describe Sunil Narine’s relation with KKR is ‘Integrated’ as he is involved with this franchise for the other 3 leagues. Moreover, he is the only global cricket player who has signed a contract and been integrated with one franchise constantly.
- Number of T20 Matches Played: 526
- Number of Matches Played for KKR: 293
Franchise Cricket Captaincy record for Knight Riders
Sunil Narine proved his best as a captain for LAKR (Los Angeles Knight Riders) in 2023 and ADKR (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders) in 2024.
| Team | Period | Matches Played | Won | Lost | Winning Percentage |
| Los Angeles Knight Riders | 2023 to 2024 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 27.27% |
| Abu Dhabi Knight Riders | 2024 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 40% |
| TOTAL | 2023 to 2024 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 33.33% |
Ajinkya Rahane Chances to Become KKR Captain for IPL 2025
PBKS (Punjab Kings) signed the star player Shreyas Iyer, the Ex-Captain of KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) for a whopping price of INR 26.75 crore during the IPL 2025 mega auction. With no skipper currently, KKR is confused about whom to elect amidst many rumored captaincy.
The most common speculations were that Rinku Singh could be the captain as he was the No.1 retention for INR 13 crore. While few guesses were for Venkatesh Iyer because the KKR franchise bought him for a higher amount of INR 23.75 crore.
However, according to the reports, it is said that KKR would shock everybody by selecting someone out of the guess list. And the new skipper would be the former star player of team India, who is none other than Ajinkya Rahane.
It is said that Rahane was bought at his base price of INR 1.5 crore solely for the purpose of captaining the team. As of now, it is 90% confirmed that Ajinkya Rahane is going to be the new captain of Kolkata Knight Riders.
Exceptional IPL Performances
Undoubtedly, Ajinkya Rahane has showcased his best talents while playing for the CSK (Chennai Super Kings) in IPL 2023 and 2024. With his fiery batting style, he has also led the RR (Rajasthan Royals) earlier in the Indian Premier League.
- Number of IPL Matches Played: 185
- Runs bagged: 4,642 Runs
- Average: 30.14
- Centuries: 2
- Half Centuries: 30
- Strike Rate: 123.42
Star of Ranji Trophy
The previous year, during the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy, Ajinkya Rahane, the 36-year-old batsman, led team Mumbai to the glorious victory of the tournament title. And, this happened to be their prestigious 42nd title in India’s domestic cricket tournament.
However, it was recently announced that Ajinkya Rahane will no longer serve as Mumbai’s captain for the SMAT (Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy) 2024 edition. Instead, he was replaced by Shreyas Iyer and was handed the chain of command.
Conclusion
Either Sunil Narine or Ajinkya Rahane might become the captain of KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) for the IPL 2025. However, there has been no announcement on this, and we will have to look forward to the KKR franchise’s official update.
