Since Shreyas Iyer is no longer associated with the franchise, KKR need a solid captain who is equally capable with the willow and will be a long-term prospect.
Venkatesh Iyer has been a major talking point since Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) acquired him for a whopping INR 23.75 crores during the IPL 2025 auction. Barring his all-round abilities, there were other reasons for his acquisition at such a hefty price.
Since Shreyas Iyer is no longer associated with the franchise, KKR need a solid captain who is equally capable with the willow and will be a long-term prospect. There have been reports about Ajinkya Rahane as the next KKR captain, but he doesn’t even warrant a place in the team due to his mediocre T20 game.
Amidst all the chaos, Venkatesh has expressed his views on the captaincy debate for IPL 2025 on the Indian Express. He wants to be a leader and feels leading KKR will be an honour.
“I’ve always maintained that I want to be a leader in any set-up that I walk into, be it Madhya Pradesh, an IPL team, or even the Indian team. Being a leader, you want to contribute with your ideas, with your suggestions. You don’t really need the captaincy tag for that. So I always want to be a leader in the dressing room. And if captaincy comes my way, it will be an honour to lead such a reputed franchise. Let’s see what’s in store for me.”
If we look at the team, KKR have a few names who can lead the franchise in the next season. They have Rinku Singh, who has gained ample T20 experience in recent times, and veterans like Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, who know the T20 format inside out.
Other options include Venkatesh Iyer, a leading candidate, Quinton de Kock, who has led in T20 leagues and South Africa, and Rovman Powell, the current captain of West Indies’ T20I team. Even Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, and Moeen Ali bring captaincy options, but their places aren’t secured in the first-choice XI.
So, the options are aplenty, which would put KKR’s think-tank in dilemma. They must make a prudent choice and appoint someone with a settled place in the XI.
At this point, Venkatesh seems to be an appropriate option for the role. He knows the KKR setup well and won’t take an overseas spot either.
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