With Shreyas Iyer no longer associated with the franchise, KKR needs a solid captain who is equally capable with the willow and is a long-term prospect.
Venkatesh Iyer has been a major talking point ever since Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) acquired him for a whopping INR 23.75 crore during the IPL 2025 auction. Apart from his all-rounder skills, there were other reasons for his acquisition at a such a high price.
With Shreyas Iyer no longer associated with the franchise, KKR needs a solid captain who is equally capable with the willow and is a long-term prospect. There have been reports about Ajinkya Rahane being the next KKR captain but he doesn’t even guarantee a place in the team due to his mediocre T20 play.
Amidst all the chaos, Venkatesh expressed his opinion on the IPL 2025 captaincy debate on the Indian Express. He wants to be a leader and feels that leading KKR will be an honour.
“I have always maintained that I want to be a leader in whatever environment I find myself in, be it Madhya Pradesh, an IPL team or even the Indian team. Being a leader you want to contribute with your ideas, with your suggestions. You don’t really need the captaincy tag for that. That’s why I always want to be a leader in the locker room. And if the captaincy comes my way, it will be an honor to lead such a renowned franchise. Let’s see what’s in store for me.”
Exploring captaincy candidates in KKR team for IPL 2025
If we look at the team, KKR has some names who can lead the franchise in the upcoming season. They have Rinku Singh, who has gained extensive T20 experience in recent times, and veterans like Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, who know the T20 format inside and out.
Other options include Venkatesh Iyer, one of the leading candidates, Quinton de Kock, who has led in the T20 and South Africa leagues, and Rovman Powell, the current captain of the West Indies T20I team. Even Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey and Moeen Ali have captaincy options but their places are not assured in the first-choice XI.
Also Read: ‘There’s no question about workload’: Jasprit Bumrah’s Workload Management set to launch in Australia
Therefore, the options are plentiful, which would put the KKR think tank in a dilemma. They must make a prudent choice and name someone with a fixed place in the XI.
At this point, Venkatesh seems to be a suitable choice for the role. He knows the KKR set-up well and will not accept an overseas position either.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram and YouTube.