Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) CEO Venky Mysore has said that the franchise will sit down and take stock of all that happened in the 2025 IPL Mega-Auction and decide on who their captain will be. Among the big questions to have come out of the event was who will captain the defending champions.
They broke the bank to get all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, thus shooting him high among contenders to take the post but then also acquired Ajinkya Rahane, Rovman Powell and Moeen Ali, all of whom are proven captains at various levels in international cricket.
Rahane is the former Test vice-captain for India, famously leading them to victory in the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. He is also captain of Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and has won the domestic first-class tournament and the Irani Trophy in the past year. Powell is the captain of the West Indies T20 team while Moeen captained England in the shortest format before his international retirement.
“Well, you know that. To be honest, we have to sit down and take stock," said Mysore on Star Sports when asked if they are looking at Rahane as a captain. "Sometimes what happens is, after you've done all of these things, you just have to sit down, reflect, look at the whole thing. There are stakeholders and parts of the think tank won't be here. So we'll all sit down and have a proper chat about that, and I'm sure a proper decision will be made,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“Well, you know that. To be honest, we have to sit down and take stock," said Mysore on Star Sports when asked if they are looking at Rahane as a captain. "Sometimes what happens is, after you've done all of these things, you just have to sit down, reflect, look at the whole thing. There are stakeholders and parts of the think tank won't be here. So we'll all sit down and have a proper chat about that, and I'm sure a proper decision will be made,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}He scored just 133 runs in seven appearances that year at a lowly strike rate of 103.90. Rahane then seemed to have completely shifted his playing style when he moved to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) next season. He played a crucial role in their run to the title, smashing 326 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of a whopping 172.48.
‘Would be more than happy to take it on,’ says Venkatesh
Venkatesh emerged as a favourite to captain KKR after he was bought back by the side for a whopping INR 23.75 crore. The franchise let go of Shreyas Iyer who had led them to the title, with the batter being signed by Punjab Kings for INR 26.75 crore.
Venkatesh for his part said that he would accept the responsibility of captaining the team if it came to him. "I had the opportunity to captain the side in Nitish Rana’s absence when he was unfortunately injured, and I was the vice-captain as well," said Venkatesh after he was bought by KKR for the huge amount.
"I’ve always believed that captaincy is just a tag, but leadership is about creating an environment where everyone feels they can play for this team and contribute. If given the responsibility, I would be more than happy to take it on. Absolutely (I'm ready for it)."