Ajinkya Rahane to continue as KKR captain, Sunil Narine to be demoted in the batting order
Published - 13 Dec 2025, 03:59 PM | Updated - 13 Dec 2025, 04:02 PM
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The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will enter the IPL Auction 2026 with the biggest purse of INR 64.3 Crore, and they have 13 spots to fill, including six overseas.
The three-time champions have retained a core group of players, including Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, and Angkrish Raghuvanshi. Apart from them, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Rovman Powell, Umran Malik, and Vaibhav Arora have also been retained by the franchise for the next season.
KKR gear up for IPL Auction 2026
The 2025 IPL season was a tough one for the Kolkata Knight Riders. After entering the tournament as defending champions, the team struggled throughout the league stage, having released several key players from their 2024 title-winning squad, and ended up in eighth place.
KKR’s campaign saw only five wins, while three other matches were affected by rain and ended without results. It was a disappointing season for the team and their fans, and now they are preparing for a stronger comeback in the IPL 2026.
They have already sacked Chandrakant Pandit and appointed Abhishek Nayar as their new head coach ahead of the IPL Auction 2026. Apart from Nayar, KKR also brought in Shane Watson as the assistant coach and Tim Southee as the bowling coach, and most recently, they have appointed their iconic all-rounder Andre Russell as their power coach.
Kolkata Knight Riders to stick with Ajinkya Rahane as captain
Despite the massive changes in the coaching staff, the franchise is reportedly not in the mood to make changes in the leadership. As reported by ESPNCricinfo journalist Nagraj Gollapudi, Ajinkya Rahane is set to continue as their captain.
Rahane, who is the experienced batter and leader, having captained Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and Mumbai in domestic cricket, is expected to be retained as the captain for the next season. Mysore also shared their bold strategic move, hinting at a fresh approach at the top of the order.
Speaking about his IPL captaincy record, Ajinkya Rahane has led teams in both Kolkata and Royal in 38 IPL matches so far and has a win percentage of around 36.8 percent. Out of these games, Rahane has won 14 games and lost 23, while one match ended with no result as IPL captain.
Read Also: Virat Kohli set to play at Chinnaswamy for first time since deadly stampede after RCB’s IPL win
Sunil Narine unlikely to open for KKR in the IPL 2026
It is being said that the West Indies all-rounder Sunil Narine will not open the innings for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the upcoming IPL 2026. Narine was promoted as the opener in the 2024 season, and this move proved to be a masterstroke under Gautam Gambhir’s mentorship.
The left-handed batter scored 488 runs in 14 innings and played a key role in the team’s third title win under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy in 2024.
But Narine's effectiveness as an opener faded away in the 2025 season, as he could muster only 246 runs in 12 games, and that might force them to think otherwise.
🚨ESPNcricinfo chatter - Nagraj Gollapudi who recently took the interview of Venky Mysore states-
— KKR Vibe (@KnightsVibe) December 13, 2025
🤔 Ajinkiya Rahane to continue as KKR captain.
😳 Sunil Narine is not opening in IPL 2026. pic.twitter.com/p6bF5ane0p
Cameron Green on Kolkata Knight Riders' radar
On the other hand, after Russell retired from the IPL, the Kolkata Knight Riders need a strong all-rounder, and Australia’s Cameron Green looks like the perfect option. It is being said that the KKR are expected to spend big to get Green at the IPL Auction 2026, having a big budget.
Green has already made a big impact in the IPL while playing for the Mumbai Indians (MI) and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The RCB will try, but the budget will not help them re-sign Green.
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