Who leads KKR after Ajinkya Rahane’s retirement? Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, or someone new?
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Who leads KKR after Ajinkya Rahane’s retirement? Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, or someone new?")
Who leads KKR after Ajinkya Rahane’s retirement Rinku, Narine, or someone new Photograph: (AFP)
With Ajinkya Rahane announcing his retirement, who will lead Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2027? Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, and Rovman Powell emerge as top skipper candidates.
IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is without a captain for the next season following Ajinkya Rahane’s retirement on Thursday (Jul 30). Unless KKR, the three-time IPL winners, acquire a new captain at the mini-auction later this year or via a trade, team vice-captain Rinku Singh will lead the race to replace Rahane as the side’s new skipper. While Rahane led the franchise for two years after Shreyas Iyer’s departure -- a season after he led his team to its third IPL crown, KKR appointed Rinku as his deputy ahead of the 2026 edition.
"Over the years, we've seen Rinku Singh evolve not only as a cricketer but also as a leader," KKR head coach Abhishek Nayar had said in the lead-up to IPL 2026.
"For the past couple of years, while his performances have spoken for themselves, I think off the field, without saying a lot, he is someone that the team looks forward to [hearing].
"We wanted a little more responsibility for Rinku to shoulder, and I feel it's the perfect time, after being a World Cup champion, to come in, take on that responsibility and help Ajinkya Rahane take the reins over,” he added.
Also read| ‘My Favourite Test Batting Partner’: Kohli pays emotional tribute to Ajinkya Rahane on retirement
Should KKR appoint him as the new captain for IPL 2027, Rinku will enter the leadership fray with limited captaincy experience, although his records speak for itself. Rinku had led Meerut Mavericks to the UPT20 title in 2024 before they finished runners-up in 2025, winning 13 of their 18 matches across the two seasons. Besides, he also captained his state team, Uttar Pradesh, in List A cricket since replacing pace great Bhuvneshwar Kumar ahead of the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy.
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Narine and Powell in the Fray
If not Rinku, KKR could look at their seasoned performer and their best player for over a decade, spinner Sunil Narine. The longest-serving KKR player since making his franchise debut in 2012, Narine has been part of all three title-winning campaigns. With the ocean of T20 experience and IPL, to be precise, picking him as the next skipper wouldn’t be a step backwards.
Moreover, his fellow countryman, Rovman Powell, also stays in contention for the vacant role at KKR. His experience leading the national team would work in his favour, as KKR aims to build a team around the new captain.
Should the franchise decide against picking any of these three as their next captain, the December auction would decide KKR's fate in IPL 2027.
