Ajinkya Rahane alleges ‘agenda’ against him, says people are jealous amid IPL 2026
Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Ajinkya Rahane continued his approach of not letting criticism affect him, as he boosts his mindset after ignoring the intense outside talk surrounding his batting form in T20 cricket.
Following the Kolkata Knight Riders' defeat to the Sunrisers Hyderabad on their home ground at Eden Gardens. Rahane was dismissed with a strike rate below 100, and that led Kolkata to a disadvantageous position.
Rahane has been criticized for his poor form; however, the batter played a massive role in KKR posing a target of 221 to the Mumbai Indians in their opening game of the season at the Wankhede Stadium.
Ajinkya Rahane hits back at critics with 'best strike rate' claim
Kolkata Knight Riders appointed Ajinkya Rahane, the legendary Indian batter, as their skipper in IPL 2025, following Shreyas Iyer's exit from the team. He played a crucial role with the bat for KKR in the last season as well, and started off this season's campaign on the same note.
Rahane argued that he, as a batter, has had the best strike rate over the past two seasons in T20 cricket. Be it franchise cricket or domestic cricket, Rahane has had promising numbers in the shortest format of the game. He has hence openly challenged the intent of his critics.
“I think I have one of the best strike rates so far from 2023. People who are talking about me (are) probably not watching the game, or they have a certain agenda against me. They don't like me playing... The amount of success that I (have) got, I guess they are jealous of me. I am not too worried," Rahane did not hold back in the post-match conference.
"They didn't expect that Ajinkya Rahane would basically prove his game this much" - Ajinkya Rahane
The batter further went on to stress the fact that Rahane has dominated T20 cricket to the best of his ability. He further claimed that no one expected that Rahane could have basically proven his game to this extent, and he is really happy that he is being talked about so much, be it positive or negative.
"Sometimes, as a batter, you don't get that rhythm; you don't get that flow. People who are talking, either they don't understand the game... or I think they want me to play a different kind of inning.
"They didn't expect that Ajinkya Rahane would basically prove his game this much. So I am happy they are talking about me, negative or positive, either way. I am really happy that they are talking. Let them talk,” Rahane added.
Ajinkya Rahane did not hold back in the post-match press conference 😮#KKRvsSRH #IPL2026 pic.twitter.com/b9IxVcrQJZ
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) April 2, 2026
KKR hit rock bottom with two consecutive losses in IPL 2026
The Kolkata Knight Riders have hit rock bottom early in the IPL 2026 tournament. The IPL 2026 campaign for the former champions from 2024 started at the back of a dismal campaign in 2025, where they finished in eighth position in the points table.
KKR didn't seem the worst side on the sheets after the mini-auction, but they suffered one blow after another. The Kolkata Knight Riders faced a massive blow with Mustafizur Rahman being ruled out by the BCCI norms, and Harshit Rana facing a massive injury scare.
The bowling side has been compromised in the absence of Matheesha Pathirana, the highly invested cricketer from Sri Lanka. With two consecutive losses in the two games of this season, KKR are now in the 9th position, only above Chennai Super Kings, who have a disappointing run-rate.
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