Venkatesh Iyer overlooked as KKR almost seals INR 1.5 crore deal for IPL 2025 captaincy

India all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer expressed his desire to lead the Kolkata Knight Riders as their new captain, following his return to the franchise with a surprising bid of INR 23.75 crore. However, it appears that KKR has all but finalized Ajinkya Rahane as their new captain, despite Iyer's interest in the role.

In a stunning turn of events, Mumbai's Ranji Trophy captain Rahane, who famously led India to a memorable 2020/21 Test series win in Australia, is set to reprise the leadership role in IPL, according to a report in the Times of India. The former India vice-captain was picked at his base price of INR 1.5 crore at the mega auction in Jeddah last week.

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transform: rotate(32deg); animation: shinerMooving 3s infinite; z-index: 1; filter: blur(1px); } @keyframes shinerMooving { 0% { left: -40px; } 100% { left: 150%; } } Top 15 buys at IPL 2025 Auction Rishabh Pant ₹ 27 Cr DC LSG Total Match 111 Total Runs 3284 Highest Score 128 runs Shreyas Iyer ₹ 26.75 Cr KKR PBKS Total Match 115 Total Runs 3127 Highest Score 96 runs Venkatesh Iyer ₹ 23.75 Cr KKR KKR Total Match 50 Total Runs 1326 Highest Score 104 runs Wickets 3 Best Bowling 2/29 Arshdeep Singh ₹ 18 Cr PBKS PBKS Total Match 65 Total Runs 29 Highest Score 10 runs Wickets 76 Best Bowling 5/32 Yuzvendra Chahal ₹ 18 Cr RR PBKS Total Match 260 Total Runs 37 Highest Score 8 runs Wickets 205 Best Bowling 5/40 Jos Buttler ₹ 15.75 Cr RR GT Total Match 107 Total Runs 3582 Highest Score 124 runs KL Rahul ₹ 14 Cr LSG DC Total Match 132 Total Runs 4683 Highest Score 132 runs Trent Boult ₹ 12.50 Cr RR MI Total Match 104 Total Runs 83 Highest Score 17 runs Wickets 121 Best Bowling 4/18 Jofra Archer ₹ 12.50 Cr MI RR Total Match 35 Total Runs 195 Highest Score 27 runs Wickets 46 Best Bowling 3/15 Josh Hazlewood ₹ 12.50 Cr RCB RCB Total Match 12 Total Runs - Highest Score - Wickets 12 Best Bowling 3/24 Mohammed Siraj ₹ 12.25 Cr RCB GT Total Match 93 Total Runs 109 Highest Score 14 runs Wickets 93 Best Bowling 4/21 Mitchell Starc ₹ 11.75 Cr KKR DC Total Match 41 Total Runs 105 Highest Score 29 runs Wickets 51 Best Bowling 4/15 Phil Salt ₹ 11.50 Cr DC RCB Total Match 21 Total Runs 653 Highest Score 89 runs Ishan Kishan ₹ 11.25 Cr MI SRH Total Match 105 Total Runs 2644 Highest Score 99 runs Wickets - Best Bowling - Jitesh Sharma ₹ 11 Cr PBKS RCB Total Match 40 Total Runs 730 Highest Score 49 runs Check Full Coverage

"Yes, at the moment it's 90% confirmed that Ajinkya will be the new KKR captain. He was bought by KKR specifically for the purpose of being a viable captaincy option," a source to TOI.

The move from KKR comes as a huge surprise after Venkatesh was tipped to lead the side in IPL 2025, given that he understand the dynamics of the team, where he spent four years, and has worked with franchise head coach Chandrakant Pandit during the latter's stint with Madhya Pradesh.

In fact, just moments after Venkatesh was re-signed by KKR, he said that he was ready to don the leadership arm band in the impending IPL season. "I have always believed that captaincy is just a tag, but leadership is about creating an environment where everyone feels they can play for this team and contribute. If given the responsibility, I would be more than happy to do it," he told the broadcasters JioCinema.

"I had the opportunity to captain the side in Nitish Rana’s absence when he was unfortunately injured, and I was the vice-captain as well;" he added.

A look at Rahane's IPL captaincy credentials

The only other IPL team the 36-year-old previously led was Rajasthan Royals, in 2018 and 2019. The team just won nine of the 24 matches during the period.

Rahane also led Mumbai's T20 side in 26 matches across 13 years, where the team won 19 games, before being replaced by Shreyas Iyer at the start of the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament. Ironically, if KKR officially make Rahane their skipper, he would replace Iyer.

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