The defending IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders named Ajinkya Rahane as their captain for the 18th season and also appointed Venkatesh Iyer as vice-captain. KKK will play their first match of IPL 2025 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on March 22 at Eden Gardens.
“Ajinkya Rahane is a mature leader and we are delighted to have him in our franchise. Venkatesh Iyer has been with us for a long time. We are hoping that they will take KKR to new heights,” KKR CEO Venky Mysore said in a statement.
Rahane also reacted to his appointment. “It is an honour to get captaincy of KKR. The franchise has been successful in the Indian Premier League. We have a balanced squad and I am looking forward to working with everyone,” Ajinkya Rahane said.
Kolkata Knight Riders’ squad for IPL 2025
Retained Players: Rinku Singh (Rs. 13 crore), Varun Chakravarthy (Rs. 12 crore), Sunil Narine (Rs. 12 crore), Andre Russell (Rs. 12 crore), Harshit Rana (Rs. 4 crore), Ramandeep Singh (Rs. 4 crore).
Players bought: Venkatesh Iyer (Rs. 23.75 crore), Quinton de Kock (Rs. 3.60 crore), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Rs. 2 crore), Anrich Nortje (Rs. 6.50 crore), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (Rs. 3 crore), Vaibhav Arora (Rs. 1.80 crore), Mayank Markande (Rs. 30 lakh), Rovman Powell (Rs. 1.50 crore), Manish Pandey (Rs. 75 lakh), Spencer Johnson (Rs. 2.80 crore), Luvnith Sisodia (Rs. 30 lakh), Ajinkya Rahane (Rs. 1.50 lakh), Anukul Roy (Rs. 40 lakh), Moeen Ali (Rs. 2 crore), Umran Malik (Rs. 75 lakh).
