Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane played a master blaster innings in the IPL opener against MI, however, he could not give KKR their first win of the season. This player has now given another big shock to the fans of KKR.
Kolkata Knight Riders were winners of their third IPL title in 2024, but failed to make the top five in the next edition of the competition. With Ajinkya Rahane appointed as their captain following the departure of Shreyas Iyer, they finished eighth in the points table.
KKR had one of the best auctions ever under Abhishek Nair. He made some unique investments in Finn Allen, Tim Seifert and Rachin Ravindra, who were bought for mere pennies. On the other hand, he invested huge amounts of money in Cameron Green and Mathisha Pathirana, whom he cited as future stars of the format.
Ajinkya Rahane’s injury revealed after IPL opener
Kolkata Knight Riders are already struggling with many injuries. Their entire pace deck is out due to injuries. Both Indian fast bowler Harshit Rana and Sri Lankan fast bowler Mathisha Pathirana are not part of their team at present. However, Pathirana is most likely to return to the IPL during the latter stages of the tournament, as revealed by head coach Abhishek Nair.
Captain Ajinkya Rahane opened the innings with New Zealand opener Finn Allen, who is known for his dynamic style of hitting the ball out of the park. However, it was Rahane who produced a masterclass performance at his home ground at Wankhede and scored a brilliant half-century. Rahane hit the ball to all corners of the ground and was part of three important partnerships with Allen, Cam Green and Angakriya Raghuvanshi.
KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane was seen struggling with some tension on the field during Mumbai Indians’ batting innings. He then immediately left the field and never returned for the rest of the game. After the game, the captain revealed that he suffered some cramps and was sat out due to the discomfort.
However, the batsman also remained positive on this occasion and claimed that he was hopeful that he would recover before the next game. “Hopefully I’ll be OK,” he said in the post-match conference.
Who will become the captain in place of Ajinkya Rahane in KKR?
Ajinkya Rahane is very likely to be back on the field for the next game, but if his injury situation worsens and he is not able to make a comeback, KKR will have to have a replacement ready, especially for the captaincy.
Manish Pandey or even Rahul Tripathi can be selected as an opener in the team along with Finn Allen, or he can be sent in the middle to open the innings with Sunil Narine. Therefore, batting is not a major concern even in the absence of the veteran.
But the biggest concern that remains is the change in captaincy for KKR. In yesterday’s game, Rinku Singh was the captain on the field in Rahane’s absence.
Why is Cameron Green not bowling for KKR?
Australia’s big all-rounder Cameron Green was bought by KKR for Rs 25.20 crore. He must have had high expectations from his huge investment; However, the Australian, who came in after mediocre performances across all formats in international cricket, failed to impress in his first innings.
Captain Ajinkya Rahane looked disappointed as questions were being raised about Green not bowling enough recently. When he was asked why Cam Green did not bowl a single over in the first game, he directly blamed Cricket Australia.
It seems that Cricket Australia has imposed some rules on KKR, which suggests that the Australian all-rounder is struggling with a lower back injury and he will not be considered to bowl his quota of overs in the first 10-12 days in the IPL.
Also read: Cricket Australia hits back at Ajinkya Rahane over Cameron Green’s sharp remarks
