Rahane, who had previously played for KKR in 2022, had been bought at his base price of Rs 1.5 crore by defending champions during the final round of bidding in the IPL mega auction in Jeddah.

After splurging hefty money on him during the mega auction, it was expected that KKR would appoint Venakesh Iyer as the skipper of the side for the 2025 IPL season. However, in a surprise move, the Kolkata-based franchise is set to appoint an experienced player as the skipper.

KKR went all out for Venkatesh Iyer for INR 23.75 crore, who might probably and potentially be their captaincy option for IPL 2025. However, the Knight Riders did balance out that bid with some steals of Anrich Nortje,

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are in a dilemma after failing to secure Shreyas Iyer in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction. Venkatesh Iyer, who was their top buy at INR 23.5 crore, was considered for captaincy.

KKR squad in IPL 2025: Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders turned heads on the first day of IPL 2025 Auction, securing seven players and making a bold move by splurging on all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer.

Kolkata Knight Riders do not have any Right To Match options left and will go into the auctions with a Rs 51 crore purse.

Ajinkya Rahane was asked to hand over Mumbai's T20 captaincy to Shreyas Iyer ahead of SMAT, ironically "Aju" will now lead KKR after Iyer helped them win the IPL trophy last season

Venkatesh Iyer was tipped to become the Kolkata Knight Riders captain in IPL 2025 after the India all-rounder was bought for a staggering ₹23.75 crore in the mega auction.

This is going to be his second stint for the reigning champions. If reports are to be believed, Rahane has emerged as the frontrunner to lead KKR in the upcoming edition of the IPL.

Ajinkya Rahane hasn't captained an IPL team since the 2019 edition. He was roped in for his base price of Rs 1.5 crore by Kolkata Knight Riders.