‘Takes lots of maturity and experience’ – KKR CEO spills beans on reason behind naming Ajinkya Rahane as captain for IPL 2025 season

Kolkata Knight Riders’ CEO, Venky Mysore, has revealed the real reason behind Ajinkya Rahane being named skipper. Rahane, who was part of the Chennai Super Kings for the last few seasons, was picked by Kolkata in the final rounds of the auction. The 36-year-old has enjoyed a great return to form with the bat. 

In his chat with ESPN CRICINFO, KKR’s CEO said, “IPL is quite an intense tournament. Clearly, we think very well of Venkatesh Iyer but, at the same time, it [captaincy] is taxing on a youngster. We have seen lots of people having lots of challenges with it as they go forward. It takes a very steady hand; it takes a lot of maturity and experience, which we felt Ajinkya brings with him."

Last season, Shreyas Iyer was the captain of the side and the right-handed batter was instrumental in KKR winning the title. There were rumours that Venkatesh Iyer could be given the captaincy but Rahane’s overall experience swung the captaincy in his favour. 

KKR CEO says appointing Rahane as the captain shouldn’t be a surprise 

Speaking to ESPN CRICINFO, Venky Mysore, who is the CEO of KKR, said, “He (Rahane) has played 185 IPL games, 195 international games across formats. He has led India, led Mumbai in domestic, he's led in IPL. And he has played from season one of the IPL. All that is massive. There should be no surprise at all (on Rahane being named KKR skipper). 

Kolkata will kick off their IPL 2025 campaign at home against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Apart from Rahane, South African stars Quinton De Kock and Anrich Nortje, as well as Umran Malik, are part of the KKR side. If Kolkata win the title in 2025, then they will have four IPL trophies, just one behind Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. 

Speaking about the importance of captaincy in the IPL, Venky Mysore said, “Captaincy cannot be underestimated. This is going to be my 15th season, so I have seen a lot. It is not only about what you do on the field. There's a lot of other stuff when it comes to IPL, including dealing with media, and there will be expectation in terms of the captain.”