"You are seeking redemption as a captain" - Aakash Chopra on the opportunities for KKR players in IPL 2025

Former India player Aakash Chopra has noted that IPL 2025 presents Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Ajinkya Rahane with a great opportunity to showcase himself as a leader again. He pointed out that the former India captain could help the franchise defend their Indian Premier League title for the first time.

KKR won the IPL 2024 trophy under Shreyas Iyer's leadership but couldn't retain his services for the upcoming edition of the prestigious league. They acquired Rahane for ₹1.50 crore at the mega auction last November and recently appointed him as their skipper for IPL 2025.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener picked Rahane's chance to once again prove his captaincy credentials among the opportunities for KKR players in IPL 2025.

"There are plenty of opportunities. It's both a challenge and opportunity for Rahane because if challenge is written on one side of a coin, opportunity is written on the other side. It's a lifetime opportunity for Ajinkya Rahane," he said (9:15).

"You are seeking redemption as a captain and you could take this team to the trophy. How beautiful this story could be. You go ahead and create something that has never been created before, or else, don't do that, just repeat what happened last year," Chopra added.

Ajinkya Rahane has impressed as a skipper at the international level. He led India to an unforgettable 2-1 win in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2020-21 when Virat Kohli returned home for the birth of his first child after the visitors' harrowing defeat in the first Test in Adelaide.

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"He hasn't really set the world on fire" - Aakash Chopra on the opportunity for KKR seamer Spencer Johnson in IPL 2025

Spencer Johnson was part of Australia's 2025 Champions Trophy squad. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Spencer Johnson has an opportunity to prove himself as an ideal replacement for Mitchell Starc with his performances for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2025.

"There is an opportunity for Spencer Johnson to become huge in reputation because he has to fill Mitchell Starc's shoes. Mitchell Starc showed what he is made of right at the end. So can Spencer Johnson do a job like that? He was with the Gujarat Titans for some time. He hasn't really set the world on fire, and if you leave one match, the Champions Trophy was also okay-okay," he said (9:40).

The former KKR player added that head coach Chandrakant Pandit has a chance to prove his credentials in last season's mentor Gautam Gambhir's absence.

"Chadu Pandit sahab. He takes his team to the title, whether it's MP or Vidarbha, but this time with no Gautam Gambhir overseeing the proceedings, it will be all down to him. The one thing that came out against him was that he is very authoritarian, but Gautam came and probably changed that," Chopra observed.

Aakash Chopra noted that Chandrakant Pandit has managed domestic teams extremely well. He added that handling the overseas superstars would be both a challenge and an opportunity for the former India wicketkeeper-batter.