Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 franchise Kolkata Knight Riders have appointed Rinku Singh as their vice-captain ahead of the 19th edition of the tournament. Rinku joined the Kolkata-based franchise in 2018, and he hogged the limelight in 2023 where he smashed five sixes off bowler Yash Dayal to secure an improbable victory, needing 29 runs off the last five balls. He has played 59 matches for the side, scoring 1,099 runs at an average of 30.53.
Who was KKR vice captain in IPL 2025?
Notably, Venkatesh Iyer was the vice-captain in IPL 2025, but the franchise released him before the auction, and he was picked by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for a whopping 7 crore. The announcement came from KKR managing director Venky Mysore during a pre-season event on Tuesday. KKR also posted the news on their social media. "God’s plan has a new chapter," KKR wrote on X.
Rinku Singh's last cricketing outing
Rinku's last cricketing outing came in the T20 World Cup 2026, where he managed to score a total of 24 runs across 5 innings, struggling to find his usual finishing rhythm with a strike rate of 82.76. His tournament was deeply impacted by personal tragedy; he lost his father to cancer midway through the event and briefly withdrew to be with his family before rejoining the squad for the later stages.
KKR's IPL 2026 schedule
| Date | Match | Venue | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 29 | Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Mumbai | 7:30 PM IST |
| April 2 | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | Kolkata | 7:30 PM IST |
| April 6 | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings | Kolkata | 7:30 PM IST |
| April 9 | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Lucknow Super Giants | Kolkata | 7:30 PM IST |
KKR's full updated squad for IPL 2026
Ajinkya Rahane (c), Rinku Singh (VC), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Rahul Tripathi, Ramandeep 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, Blessing Muzarabani, Prashant Solanki.