From winning the IPL 2024 title, to exactly a year later, a lot has changed for KKR. No Gautam Gambhir, no Abhishek Nayar, and no Shreyas Iyer virtually means a new think tank for the team, and how much they deliver under Ajinkya Rahane.. we will find out soon. But for starters, the KKR management has done a commendable job to retain their main men — Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, and Ramandeep Singh.
Apart from that, they seemed to have compiled the squad that will just about do the job for them. But just like every other team, Kolkata Knight Riders too have their strengths and weaknesses. InsideSport takes a look at them.
Strengths
Solid batting: Despite Shreyas Iyer‘s ouster from the team, KKR looks like a serious batting unit. They might have found themselves a new opener in Quinton De Kock, with Sunil Narine as his partner. Rahane, the star of the SMAT will follow. Then there is likes of Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, and a few other “bowlers”, who can send the ball miles.
Spin sorted too: Varun Chakravarthy has had exceptional last two years, made it to the Indian team again, and impressed. So, he will be their trump card in bowling; Narine is there too. While Narine isn’t the same wicket-taker now, but he is still an economic bowler. Last year, his economy was only 6.69, while bagging 17 wickets.
Opportunities
Rahane’s chance to shine: The veteran scored 469 runs in 9 matches in the domestic T20 competition and led his side to the title. After Iyer is gone, he has the chance to not only replicate his performances, but also get back in the national reckoning, if things go well for his side.
Venkatesh Iyer can step-up: He has always been a player who has turned up for the franchise, but somehow, never been an exceptional candidate. After being made the VC, it is the time to show that he deserves a price tag of 23.75 Cr.
Weaknesses
Pace department looks brittle: Russell is a good enough pacer, an so is Harshit Rana, but then they lack a quality, premium fast bowler in their ranks. Anrich Nortje’s presence doesn’t really mean much, as he is injury prone, coming back after big niggle.
Threats
New captain, support staff: It might take some time for the likes of Rahane, Ottis Gibson and Dwayne Bravo to get used to KKR ways, Unfortunately, they don’t have enough time on their hand as they play their first match on March 22.
Huge distance travelled: The team travels approx. 13,500 km for their league matches, which is one of the highest this season. Believe it or nor, fatigue does kick in, when the players are constantly on the road for longer durations.
Pace guiding light: Both Russell and Harshit picked up a lot of wickets last year, but then they don’t really have a spearhead in their ranks. Once they start to get hit for runs, a senior pacer might not be there to help them.
KKR IPL 2025 Squad
Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh, Venkatesh Iyer (Rs. 23.75 crore), Quinton de Kock (Rs. 3.60 crore), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Rs. 2 crore), Anrich Nortje (Rs. 6.50 crore), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (Rs. 3 crore), Vaibhav Arora (Rs. 1.80 crore), Mayank Markande (Rs. 30 lakh), Rovman Powell (Rs. 1.50 crore), Manish Pandey (Rs. 75 lakh), Spencer Johnson (Rs. 2.80 crore), Luvnith Sisodia (Rs. 30 lakh), Ajinkya Rahane (Rs. 1.50 lakh), Anukul Roy (Rs. 40 lakh), Moeen Ali (Rs. 2 crore), Chetan Sakariya.
