Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) appointed Ajinkya Rahane as their captain and Venkatesh Iyer as vice captain for the upcoming edition of the tournament. IPL 2025 is scheduled to start from March 22 and defending champions KKR will play the tournament opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Rahane took his 'X' formerly known as Twitter to react after becoming captain of the Kolkata-based franchise.
“It’s an honour to be asked to lead KKR, which has been one of the most successful franchises in the IPL. I think we have an excellent and balanced squad. I look forward to working with everyone and taking up the challenge of defending our title” said Rahane in a press released shared by KKR.
The franchise brought Rahane for his base price of Rs 1.5 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction in Jeddah. This is not the first time that Rahane will lead a franchise in his IPL career. From IPL 2018 to 2019, he led Rajasthan Royals (RR). Under his captaincy, RR won nine out of 24 games and could not make it to the playoffs.
KKR's IPL 2025 schedule
| Match | Date | Time | Venue |
| Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Saturday, 22-Mar-25 | 7:30 PM | Kolkata |
| Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Wednesday, 26-Mar-25 | 7:30 PM | Guwahati |
| Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Tuesday, 31-Mar-25 | 7:30 PM | Mumbai |
| Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | Thursday, 03-Apr-25 | 7:30 PM | Kolkata |
| Kolkata Knight Riders vs Lucknow Super Giants | Sunday, 06-Apr-25 | 3:30 PM | Kolkata |
| Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Friday, 11-Apr-25 | 7:30 PM | Chennai |
| Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Tuesday, 15-Apr-25 | 7:30 PM | New Chandigarh |
| Kolkata Knight Riders vs Gujarat Titans | Monday, 21-Apr-25 | 7:30 PM | Kolkata |
| Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings | Saturday, 26-Apr-25 | 7:30 PM | Kolkata |
| Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Tuesday, 29-Apr-25 | 7:30 PM | Delhi |
| Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals | Sunday, 04-May-25 | 3:30 PM | Kolkata |
| Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings | Wednesday, 07-May-25 | 7:30 PM | Kolkata |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Saturday, 10-May-25 | 7:30 PM | Hyderabad |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Saturday, 17-May-25 | 7:30 PM | Bengaluru |
KKR has played four IPL finals and they won three titles in 2012, 2014 and 2024. They finished runners-up in the 2021 season.
KKR's IPL 2025 squad
Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Anrich Nortje, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Spencer Johnson, Luvnith Sisodia, Ajinkya Rahane, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, Umran Malik
