"It doesn't seem like they would make him their captain" - Aakash Chopra picks KKR's potential captain for IPL 2025

Former India player Aakash Chopra has noted that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have a few captaincy options heading into IPL 2025. However, he virtually ruled out the chances of Ajinkya Rahane leading them in the upcoming season and opined that Rinku Singh is also unlikely to be their skipper.

KKR released Shreyas Iyer, their IPL 2024 winning skipper, and didn't reacquire him at the mega auction. While they retained Rinku for ₹13 crore, they acquired Rahane for ₹1.50 crore.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener reckoned that neither Rahane nor Rinku would be the Knight Riders' captain in IPL 2025.

"They bought Ajinkya Rahane right at the end. His first-class form has been very good and he played extremely well in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy too. So it seems like you can make Ajinkya Rahane your captain. I don't think Ajinkya Rahane will be in their thought process. I don't think Ajinkya Rahane is their captain," he said (7:20).

"It should be a two-horse race. It has to be either Venkatesh Iyer or Rinku Singh. In my opinion, Rinku Singh's stocks should have increased. He is UP's captain and is a proper player. However, it doesn't seem like they would make him their captain as well," Chopra added.

Rinku Singh aggregated 168 runs at a strike rate of 148.67 in 11 innings for KKR in IPL 2024. Ajinkya Rahane scored 242 runs at a strike rate of 123.46 in 12 innings for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) last season.

---

"You suddenly feel whether you spent too much" - Aakash Chopra on KKR's acquisition of Venkatesh Iyer at IPL 2025 auction

KKR bought Venkatesh Iyer for ₹23.75 crore at the IPL 2025 auction. [P/C: iplt20.com]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra opined that the Kolkata Knight Riders might be wondering whether they overspent while acquiring Venkatesh Iyer at the IPL 2025 auction.

"You went all guns blazing and spent so much money on Venkatesh Iyer that you suddenly feel whether you spent too much. You might have got even Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan or a few other players for that much. There were plenty of options available in the auction," he said (8:15).

The cricketer-turned-commentator reckoned that the Kolkata-based franchise will likely appoint Venkatesh as their skipper, considering the exorbitant sum they spent on him.

"However, they went with Venkatesh Iyer. They kept going a long way for him. In fact, they were having a fight with RCB. In the end, they got him and I think he could be their captain. When you have invested so much money in someone, Venkatesh Iyer might be KKR's captain," Chopra observed.

Aakash Chopra acknowledged that KKR could consider Sunil Narine and Andre Russell as captaincy options as they play for the franchise in multiple leagues. However, he opined that they are unlikely to go that route as an Indian captain is needed.