Defending Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have named Ajinkya Rahane as their captain ahead of the upcoming season. Venkatesh Iyer has been named Rahane's deputy as they begin their title defence on March 22 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

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“We are delighted to have someone like Ajinkya Rahane, who brings his experience and maturity as a leader. Also, Venkatesh Iyer has been a franchise player for KKR and brings a lot of leadership qualities. We are confident that they will combine well as we start the defence of our title,” said Venky Mysore, CEO of KKR, via a press release. 

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“It’s an honour to be asked to lead KKR, which has been one of the most successful franchises in the IPL. I think we have an excellent and balanced squad. I look forward to working with everyone and taking up the challenge of defending our title,” Rahane said upon receiving the captaincy.

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The veteran Indian batter was done and dusted when a stint with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) led to his second innings, where the technical batter plays with disdain and flamboyance. KKR had bought Rahane at the auction for his base price of INR 1.50 crore ($1,72,000 approximately).

KKR, in the IPL mega auction in November 2024, decided to let go skipper Shreyas Iyer as they kept the rest of the core the same. They retained the maximum allowed six players ahead of the auction with Varun Chakaravarthy, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Harshit Rana.

They bought back Iyer for a whopping INR 23.75 crore ($2.6 million) on the first day of the auction, along with other players including Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Anrich Nortje, and Quinton de Kock.

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The IPL season starts on March 22, with the final set to be played nearly two months later on May 25—both in Kolkata.