MUMBAI: In a remarkable turn in his T20 cricket career, Mumbai's Ranji Trophy captain Ajinkya Rahane has emerged as a leading contender to captain the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2025, TOI has learnt.
At the IPL auction in Jeddah a few days back, KKR had bought the 36-year-old at his base price of Rs 1.5 crore.
"Yes, at the moment it's 90% confirmed that Ajinkya will be the new KKR captain. He was bought by KKR specifically for the purpose of being a viable captaincy option," a source told TOI.
This development is indeed a surprise because the Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise were tipped to appoint allrounder Venkatesh Iyer as the captain after buying him for a staggering Rs 23.75 crore at the IPL auction recently.
If the 36-year-old becomes the captain, it will be a huge turnaround in the fortunes of Rahane, who was recently removed as the Mumbai captain for the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy.
The Mumbai Cricket Association preferred the in-form Shreyas Iyer for the job instead.
Ironically, if Rahane gets the job, he will replace Iyer, who had captained KKR to the IPL title last season.
While Rahane is no longer a part of the Indian team in any format, his captaincy credentials are next to none in Indian cricket.
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