Rahane Or Venkatesh? KKR CEO's Brutally Honest Verdict On IPL Captaincy

There has been a lot of conversation surrounding the captaincy situation in Kolkata Knight Riders following the IPL 2025 auction. KKR won the IPL 2024 title under Shreyas Iyer's captaincy but the franchise decided to release the India batter ahead of the new season. Following the auction, two major contenders have emerged for the KKR captaincy role - Venkatesh Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane. While Rahane is the experienced option, the Rs 23.75 crore price tag makes Venkatesh a prime contender for the position. After the auction, KKR CEO Venky Mysore opened up about the situation and he provided a clear answer regarding the captaincy conundrum.

“Well, you know that. To be honest, we have to sit down and take stock. Sometimes what happens is, after you've done all of these things, you just have to sit down, reflect, look at the whole thing. There are stakeholders and parts of the think tank won't be here. So we'll all sit down and have a proper chat about that, and I'm sure a proper decision will be made," Mysore was quoted as saying to the broadcasters.

Meanwhile, Venkatesh Iyer on Sunday said he would be "more than happy" to take on the captaincy challenge and step into Shreyas Iyer's shoes.

In a bold and unexpected move, the Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise chose not to retain their 2024 IPL-winning captain Shreyas Iyer at the mega auction here and went for an all out bidding war against Royal Challengers Bengaluru to secure Venkatesh.

"I had the opportunity to captain the side in Nitish Rana's absence when he was unfortunately injured, and I was the vice-captain as well," said Venkatesh after he was bought by KKR for the huge amount.

"I've always believed that captaincy is just a tag, but leadership is about creating an environment where everyone feels they can play for this team and contribute. If given the responsibility, I would be more than happy to take it on. Absolutely (I'm ready for it).

"Together, we will aim to defend the championship and continue our winning campaign. Thank you very much for picking me in your squad,” he added.

(With PTI inputs)