Why will KKR wear a special Golden Badge on the jersey in IPL 2025?

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) recently unveiled their jersey for the upcoming IPL 2025 season. They will enter the tournament as the defending champions this year after winning the trophy by beating the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final of IPL 2024. However, they will be without their trophy-winning captain, Shreyas Iyer, this time around.

The Knight Riders released him ahead of the mega auction last year after retaining Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana, and Ramandeep Singh. The Punjab Kings (PBKS) purchased Iyer at the auction for a whopping amount of ₹26.75 crore and then appointed him captain for IPL 2025.

The Kolkata franchise added a third star on their jersey, symbolizing their three trophy wins in 2012, 2014, and 2024. They will also have a Golden Badge on their jersey in IPL 2025, which depicts that they are the defending champions in the tournament.

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KKR will face RCB in the opening match of IPL 2025 on March 22

KKR's IPL 2025 campaign will commence on March 22 with an interesting contest against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Eden Gardens. They will be hoping for a similar performance from last year to defend the IPL trophy.

Here is KKR's complete schedule for the upcoming season:

March 22: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Kolkata, 7:30 PM

March 26: Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Guwahati, 7:30 PM

March 31: Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai, 7:30 PM

April 3: Kolkata Knight Riders vs SunRisers Hyderabad in Kolkata, 7:30 PM

April 6: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Lucknow Super Giants in Kolkata, 3:30 PM

April 11: Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai, 7:30 PM

April 15: Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Mullanpur, 7:30 PM

April 21: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Gujarat Giants in Kolkata, 7:30 PM

April 26: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings in Kolkata, 7:30 PM

April 29: Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Delhi, 7:30 PM

May 4: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals in Kolkata, 3:30 PM

May 7: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings in Kolkata, 7:30 PM

May 10: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Hyderabad, 7:30 PM

May 17: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Bengaluru, 7:30 PM