Ajinkya Rahane Named KKR Captain: What It Means for the Team

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has chosen Ajinkya Rahane as their captain, but this decision comes after most other teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL) have already announced their leaders. Rahane did really well in the domestic cricket season. He helped Mumbai win the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament and was the top run-scorer. However, picking a 36-year-old player, whose last T20 International match was nine years ago, as captain of a team that won the IPL last year is a big risk.

It seems like Rahane was not KKR’s first choice for captain. He was picked during an auction for ₹1.50 crore after going unsold before. The team released Shreyas Iyer, which was surprising since he led the team to an IPL title three times. KKR spent a lot of money, ₹23.75 crore, to bring back Venkatesh Iyer, who many thought would be named captain, but Rahane got the role instead. Even though Rahane has lots of experience as a player and a captain, his recent performance in T20 cricket hasn’t been great.

Cheteshwar Pujara, a former Indian player, said that KKR was uncertain about their captain before the season started, which caused confusion among other players. He noted that if players don’t know who their leader is, many questions can arise in the dressing room.

Former KKR player Aaron Finch highlighted that if KKR had kept Shreyas Iyer in the team, he could have really helped shape the squad’s plans better. Finch believes having a clear leader before the auction makes a big difference in building a strong team.