Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane said underwhelming batting performances by key players like Rinku Singh and Andre Russell, was the main reason for the defending champions’ disappointing eighth-place finish this IPL season. Ajinkya Rahane said while the bowling unit largely met expectations, the failure of three-four main batters derailed their campaign. KKR’s season ended with a crushing 110-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad here on Monday.
Venkatesh Iyer (average 20.28), Andre Russell (18.55), Rinku (29.42), and Ramandeep (9.40), who played key roles in KKR’s 2024 title triumph, failed to replicate their form this season, hurting the team’s prospects. On Sunday, Sunrisers Hyderabad piled a massive 278/3 — the third-highest total in IPL history — on the back of Heinrich Klaasen’s 37-ball century, before bowling out KKR for 168.
However, earlier setbacks such as the loss to Punjab Kings, while chasing just 112, and a narrow four-run defeat to Lucknow Super Giants while chasing 239, proved more damaging for KKR’s campaign. They also had two rain-marred games and ultimately ended up with five wins from 14 matches.
KKR ended the season with 12 points and a net run rate of -0.305. In addition to their losses, two of their matches—against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings—were washed out due to rain, earning them two points.
One of the biggest talking points was KKR’s decision to re-sign Venkatesh Iyer using the Right To Match card after releasing him, at a hefty price of Rs 23.75 crore, making him their third-most expensive player. But Ajinkya Rahane dismissed any suggestions that the price tag may have impacted the player’s performance.
Ajinkya Rahane KKR skipper defends KKR’S strategy for entire IPL 2025
KKR’s tactics have faced heavy criticism following their disappointing performances, which ultimately cost them a spot in the IPL 2025 playoffs. Coming into the season as defending champions, the team struggled to repeat last year’s success under the leadership of Ajinkya Rahane.
Batting was their biggest weakness this season with their most expensive player Venkatesh Iyer failing to deliver throughout the tournament. Other batters also failed to perform consistently and the side eventually finished with just five wins in 14 matches. Rahane was their top run-scorer with 390 runs in 13 games.
In their final league stage game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, KKR conceded a whopping 278 runs. After that, they were bowled out for 168 runs in 18.3 overs, losing the match by a massive margin of 110 runs. After the match, Rahane said he would have loved to open for KKR, but he didn’t do it because of the team combination.
In the post match conference on Sunday, Ajinkya Rahane defended his decision for to be the opening batter for KKR and play in the middle order . Ajinkya Rahane was the leading scorer for Mumbai in Syed Mustaq Ali trophy where he amassed 469 runs in eight innings with an breezy strike rate of 164.
In their final league stage game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, KKR conceded a whopping 278 runs. After that, they were bowled out for 168 runs in 18.3 overs, losing the match by a massive margin of 110 runs. After the match, Rahane said he would have loved to open for KKR, but he didn’t do it because of the team combination.
“Yes, I’d love to open. I’ve done well in Mushtaq Ali and other formats as an opener. But it’s about what the team needs,” he said.
However former Indian player Virender Sehwag all but slammed Ajinkya Rahane for his tactics with KKR which saw the downfall of the team in IPL 2025 after being defending champions the previous year.
Former Indian player Virender Sehwag slams KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane post dismal exit from IPL 2025
Former India opener Virender Sehwag has slammed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane for his batting order decisions in the recent matches. Speaking on Cricbuzz, Sehwag said that being a captain doesn’t mean one has to always bat in the top three positions.
Virender Sehwag pointed out that Lucknow Super Giants did the same with Rishabh Pant, who was not in good form in IPL 2025 . He said that KKR had the chance to do something similar but failed to do so. Virender Sehwag blamed both Rahane and the team management for not taking bold calls.
“It is not written anywhere that a captain has to bat in the top three. Look at Rishabh Pant. He was sending players ahead of him because they were in form, and LSG took full advantage of that. KKR could have done the same. This was the team management and the coaching staff’s responsibility,” Sehwag said.
“See, even CSK did it against GT. Shivam Dube and Dewald Brevis came up the order, they changed that up from the recent matches,” he added.
KKR ended their campaign in the IPL 2025 with 5 wins and 7 losses in their 14 matches, with a couple of games having no result due to the interruption of rain. If LSG lose their last match of the season badly, KKR could finish the league in the 7th position.
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