Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is just a few weeks away. Teams have started their preparations for the upcoming edition of the tournament. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have officially announced their captain for the upcoming edition of the competition. Ajinkya Rahane will lead the team for the IPL 2026 season.
Ajinkya Rahane was made the captain of the team last season, and he did not have a good time as captain, as KKR finished 7th in the points table and failed to qualify for the playoffs after being crowned champions of the 2024 edition of the tournament. Rahane was the leading scorer with the bat for the team last season.
KKR officially announced Ajinkya Rahane as captain
The Knights have had coaching changes; However, the management decided to retain Rahane as captain for the upcoming IPL season. The veteran campaigner had earlier announced on his LinkedIn account that he will lead KKR. However, today the franchise officially announced through a video on social media that Ajinkya Rahane will continue as the captain.
As captain, Ajinkya Rahane won 5 matches and lost 7, while two matches were lost due to rain. KKR finished on 12 points last season. After the disappointing performance, there were reports that the franchise may move ahead of Rahane and appoint a new captain.
Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy record
| Social class | statistics |
|---|---|
| Matchbox | 38 |
| won | 14 |
| lost | 23 |
| tied/attracted | 2/- |
| win % | 36.84% |
KKR removed Rinku Singh from captaincy
Former KKR batsman Aakash Chopra had supported making Rinku Singh the captain of the team. During the Trailblazers event organized by RevSportz, the cricketer turned commentator believed that the franchise was confused about choosing the captain, and they should have selected the captain before the auction and not during the closing moments.
Rinku Singh has the experience of captaining Uttar Pradesh in the UP T20 League as well as captaining the state. The southpaw has been associated with the franchise for a long time and has been a match-winner for the team. However, he was ignored for captaincy.
The Knights released their title-winning captain Shreyas Iyer ahead of the auction and picked up Venkatesh Iyer at a whopping price of Rs 23.75 crore in the previous edition of the auction. However, they did not make him the captain in the 2025 edition, and he also failed as a player and was released in the 2025 auction.
Many more to follow……
Also Read: “He should not get confused”: Former DC coach warns team on KL Rahul’s batting order ahead of IPL 2026