Mohammad Kaif wants KKR to groom Rinku Singh as their future captain in IPL 2026

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has suggested that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) should begin grooming new leadership candidates during the upcoming season. This comes after a disappointing IPL 2025 campaign where the franchise invested in veteran Ajinkya Rahane during the auction and subsequently handed him the captaincy. Despite Rahane's experience, the Knight Riders failed to secure a spot in the playoffs, prompting discussions about the long-term direction of the team’s leadership.

ALSO READ: Irfan Pathan likens SRH's 23-yr-old uncapped star with Abhishek Sharma ahead of IPL 2026

Rinku Singh can handle captaincy and batting together: Mohammad Kaif

Kaif has proposed Rinku Singh as a potential successor, citing a deep familiarity with the player's growth. Having closely monitored Rinku’s progress within the Uttar Pradesh state team, Kaif believes the 28-year-old possesses the temperament and domestic success necessary to transition into a captaincy role. He argues that the explosive batter's evolution on the field provides a strong foundation for him to develop the strategic skills required to lead the franchise in the future.

“KKR should groom Rinku Singh as a future captain. Rinku Singh is an all-format player. Although he is not part of the Test team, he can bat well in all formats. I come from UP and I know what he does for UP. A lot of batters score runs, but his runs come in winning cause. So, that guy is ready and captains UP,” Kaif said on his latest YouTube video.

“He has the mental strength to handle captaincy and batting together. They have a guy who is ready. Now it remains to be seen if they give him the captaincy after Rahane, do it mid-season, or make him the vice-captain. Just get him in the mix, it will be a long-term investment for KKR,” he added.

ALSO READ: DC captain Axar Patel reveals KL Rahul's new batting order for IPL 2026

Kaif further revealed that Venkatesh Iyer was initially a top contender for the leadership role during the high-stakes IPL auction. This consideration gained significant traction after KKR made a massive financial commitment, exceeding the Rs 20 crore mark to grab the versatile all-rounder.
However, despite the record-breaking bid for Iyer, the KKR management ultimately pivoted their strategy. They opted to entrust the captaincy to the veteran Ajinkya Rahane, favoring his extensive experience in high-pressure situations.

“Even that call was taken very late. Rahane was picked towards the end of the auction, which means he was not in the plans for captaincy. It felt like they were looking for a future captain when they spent ₹23-24 crore for Venkatesh Iyer. But they later went with Rahane because of his captaincy experience,” Kaif concluded.

KKR's updates squad for IPL 2026

Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Rahul Tripathi, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Cameron Green, Sunil Narine, Rachin Ravindra, Rovman Powell, Anukul Roy, Daksh Kamra, Sarthak Ranjan, Finn Allen, Tejasvi Singh, Tim Seifert, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Matheesha Pathirana, Umran Malik, Kartik Tyagi, Saurabh Dubey (Akash Deep's replacement), Blessing Muzarabani, Prashant Solanki