Before the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, there was a lot of discussion about who will take charge of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)? Last season, Ajinkya Rahane captained KKR. Under his leadership, the team was able to achieve only 5 wins in 15 matches and stood eighth in the table. Rahane’s performance with the bat was satisfactory. He scored 390 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 147.72. However, he failed to give a good start to KKR.
There were question marks over Rahane’s place in the team, due to which a change in the leadership of KKR was expected before the new season, but the management kept faith in him. Captaincy was not taken from Rahane and then what was feared happened. KKR had to face defeat in 5 out of the first 6 matches. Now the team is just holding its breath in the race for the playoffs. Despite a win against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Wednesday (May 20), their fate remains in the hands of Rajasthan Royals (RR). If RR defeats MI on Sunday then the doors will be closed for KKR.
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Rahane flopped with this bat also
Rahane has been able to add only 272 runs in 13 innings at an average of 22.66 so far in the current season. During this period his strike rate remained only 130.14. In the chase of 148 runs against MI on Wednesday, he could score only 21 runs in 17 balls. After another flop show by Rahane, the debate has again started whether he had a place in the team? There are players like Tejasvi Dahiya sitting on the bench of KKR, who was bought by this franchise for Rs 3 crore. If Angkrish Raghuvanshi had not suffered a head injury during the match against MI, Tejashwi would not have got a chance to play even a single match this season. He was fielded as a concussion substitute, so that he could make his IPL debut.
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This wicketkeeper batsman coming from Delhi has a strike rate of 168.65 in T20. Playing for South Delhi Superstars in the Delhi Premier League 2025, he scored 339 runs in 10 innings at an unmatched average of 48.43 and a brilliant strike rate of 190.45. He was the batsman who hit the second most number of sixes (29) after Nitish Rana (34). Seeing Tejashwi’s six-hitting ability, KKR had placed a big bet on him but he did not get opportunities with Rahane.
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