'Everyone on same page': KKR's Ajinkya Rahane ahead of opener
What's the story
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane has expressed optimism ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season.
He stated that everyone in the team is on "the same page," which bodes well for their title defense.
The KKR squad was recently introduced at the Knights Unplugged 2.0 event in Kolkata, where fans had the opportunity to interact with key team members, including Rahane and vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer.
Here are further details.
Leadership
Skipper confident of successful 2025 season
Rahane, who moved to KKR after two seasons with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), is thrilled to lead the team.
He stressed on their strong preparation for the season and spoke about the team.
"We have a very good team this year. For us, it's about keeping it simple. Everyone is on the same page," he said as per ANI, adding that it would be "a great season for us."
Past performance
Rahane's IPL journey and future goals
In his last IPL season with KKR in 2022, Rahane managed 133 runs in seven matches at 19.00.
According to ESPNcricinfo, his phenomenal run with CSK saw him score 568 runs in two seasons, with two half-centuries. His strike-rate in 2023 was 172.48.
Overall, he owns 4,642 runs from 185 matches at 30.14.
Moving forward, Rahane is keen to take KKR to another title win this season.
Leadership numbers
A look at Rahane's captaincy numbers
Rahane captained Rajasthan Royals and Rising Pune Supergiants across 25 matches. He recorded nine wins and 16 defeats (win percentage of 36).
Notably, 24 of his matches as captain came for RR.
Meanwhile, Rahane has managed just 583 runs at 25.34 while captaining in IPL (50s: 2). His strike-rate of 122.22 while leading needs an improvement.