Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders have formed a stellar squad for the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League. KKR went all out for Indian all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer and spent INR 23.75 crore to sign him at the mega auction.
Besides, the Knight Riders had already retained Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Rinku Singh before the mega auction. Meanwhile, reports have surfaced claiming that Ajinkya Rahane will replace Shreyas Iyer as the captain of KKR, now that Iyer has moved to Punjab Kings.
On that note, here’s a look at the predicted playing XI of the Kolkata Knight Riders team for IPL 2025.
Openers of Kolkata Knight Riders – Sunil Narine and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk)
Like the last season, KKR can use an explosive opening duo featuring Sunil Narine and an overseas wicketkeeper. Phil Salt has moved to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but KKR managed to re-sign Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who should be the first-choice opener for the Knight Riders in IPL 2025 now.
Middle Order – Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh and Andre Russell
The middle-order of the KKR squad is more or less the same. Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh and Andre Russell continue to be with the Knight Riders team.
Shreyas Iyer has left, and his position will be taken up by Ajinkya Rahane, who is reported to be the new captain of the team. The team management also has the option of Manish Pandey for the middle-order.
Bowlers – Anrich Nortje, Harshit Rana, Umran Malik and Varun Chakravarthy (Impact Player)
South African speedster Anrich Nortje will lead the pace attack of the Knight Riders team. If the team management wants an overseas left-arm pace-bowling option, they can opt for Spencer Johnson. Harshit Rana has been retained and will be the main Indian pacer.
If the conditions suit the pacers, KKR can pick Umran Malik or if the pitch is spin-friendly, they have the option of Anukul Roy or Mayank Markande. Varun Chakravarthy will be the Impact Player.
