Kolkata Knight Riders surprised fans by naming Ajinkya Rahane as the new captain ahead of IPL 2025. The defending champions opted to hand over the reins to the veteran instead of giving it to their costliest buy Venkatesh Iyer. Ahead of the new season, the team management has opened up on the decision to put a veteran in-charge of the team instead of a youngster.
Why was Rahane picked as KKR captain?
Spesaking to ESPNCricinfo, KKR CEO Venky Mysore said that putting the pressure of captaincy on Venkatesh would have been very taxing for the youngster. He said that Rahane has a steady hand and maturity in terms of handling the complexities as captain.
“Clearly, we think very well of Venkatesh Iyer, but at the same time it is taxing on a youngster. We have seen lots of people having lots of challenges with it as they go forward. It takes a very steady hand, takes a lot of maturity and experience which we felt Ajinkya brings with him,” Mysore said.
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Rahane is no stranger to captaincy. He has successfully led the Mumbai team in domestic tournaments to glory and is a seasoned veteran. The KKR CEO echoed similar sentiments in justifying why Rahane was picked as captain.
“He has played 185 IPL games, 200 international games across formats. He has led India, led Mumbai in domestic, he’s led in IPL. And he has played from season one of IPL. All that is massive. There should be no surprise at all,” Mysore added.
“Venkatesh Iyer is captaincy material”
Talking about Iyer, Mysore said that the youngster was surely captiancy material who possessed leadership qualities. He indiciated that the Madhya Pradesh batter could be the future captain for the franchise.
“We have been very, very impressed with the leadership qualities that he has shown. He’s a franchise player and what he has shown in terms of how he participates, and the respect that others have around him, and the energy he brings, so he definitely has got massive potential. So, he’s one for the future for us for sure. He clearly is captaincy material,” he added.
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