Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) CEO Venky Mysore opened up on the much-debated decision of appointing Ajinkya Rahane as captain for IPL 2025, despite Venkatesh Iyer being the prime choice for the role.
The 30-year-old MP all-rounder was retained by the KKR franchise before the IPL 2025 auction for INR 23.75 crore. And many felt that after KKR parted ways with Shreyas Iyer, who won them the IPL 2024 title, Iyer might be the go-to choice for captaincy in the IPL 2025.
In the IPL 2025 mega auction, during the last round, KKR managed to buy Ajinkya Rahane for his base price as he had gone unsold in the previous rounds.
And most recently, Ajinkya Rahane was named captain of the KKR team for IPL 2025, and Venkatesh Iyer was appointed as the vice-captain.
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) CEO Venky Mysore has now opened up on the decision to snub Venkatesh Iyer and hand the leadership duties to the veteran batsman Ajinkya Rahane.
"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 and a lot of maturity and experience, which we felt Ajinkya brings with him,” Mysore told ESPNCricinfo.
This is Rahane's second tenure with KKR; he played seven matches for them in the IPL 2022, when they finished seventh. Rahane has played for six IPL franchises and is one of only a few players to have participated since the league's debut in 2008.
Rahane has some experience captaining India, having led in 25 matches for two IPL franchises: Rising Pune Supergiant and Rajasthan Royals. Mysore felt such a wealth of experience could only be beneficial for KKR.
"He has played 185 IPL games and 200 [195] international games across formats. He has led India, led Mumbai in domestic, and led in IPL. And he has played since season one of IPL. All that is massive. There should be no surprise at all [on appointing Rahane as captain].
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 expectations in terms of the captain. At the same time, it is a new cycle; there is diversity in the team; if you have to be a successful captain, you have to invest in building relationships with everybody so that you know how to get the best out of everyone.
And then there's preparatory stuff in terms of camps, bowlers' meetings, batters' meetings, and interaction with coaches—that's a lot to take in. From that perspective, we are lucky we have got Ajinkya, who will be terrific for us. Not only as a captain, of which there's no doubt but also as a batsman. He has scored tons of runs,” Venky Mysore added.
Mysore also said that Venkatesh would continue to be part of the leadership group and that he had the potential to grow into a future captain.
"We have been very, very impressed with the leadership qualities that he has shown. He's a franchise player, and what he has shown in terms of how he participates, and the respect that others have around him, and the energy he brings [to the dressing room]… So he definitely has massive potential. He's one for the future for us for sure. He clearly is captaincy material.
"Knowing Ajinkya, he will take him [Venkatesh] under his wing and mentor him on the captaincy side of things. So, in a way, I expect they will be kind of joined at the hip and working very closely together,” Mysore concluded.
KKR will open the IPL 2025 season on March 22, clashing with SRH at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
(ESPNCricinfo inputs)
