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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are the defending champions and they tried to go after most of their former players who were a part of the squad in the IPL 2024. They went up to a certain point for their 2024 IPL-winning captain Shreyas Iyer but couldn’t match the price.
Having retained as many as six players prior to the auction, KKR bought back their star player Venkatesh Iyer. They spent a whopping INR 23.75 crore for the Madhya Pradesh all-rounder. He could well become their new captain. Quinton de Kock and Spencer Johnson were the big overseas inclusions. They bought back their domestic talents, such as Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Vaibhav Arora.
Experienced players like Manish Pandey and Ajinkya Rahane, both of whom have been a part of the KKR setup before have also been bought back. In fact, Pandey has been a part of two IPL title wins with them as well. Rovman Powell, Anrich Nortje and Rahmanullah Gurbaz are the other big foreign names.
Their squad for the 2025 season is quite similar to the one they had last year. Thus, let’s look at how the three-time IPL champions could line up if every player is fit and available.
1. Quinton de Kock (wicket-keeper)
Quinton de Kock has been a part of the IPL for a decade now. The South Africa wicket-keeper batter has played for five teams so far and has produced 500 runs or more three times in an IPL season (2019, 2020, 2022). He was with Lucknow Super Giants for the last three editions and he got 901 runs at an average of 31.06 with a strike-rate of 143.24. The ball comes onto the bat nicely at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata and that will suit his style of play very well.
2. Sunil Narine
Sunil Narine had a stunning IPL 2024 season. The West Indies mystery spinner was promoted to open the batting once again and he repaid the faith of the team management. He racked up 488 runs at a strike-rate of 180.74. With the ball, he picked up 17 wickets at an economy rate of 6.64. He’ll once again open and will be given the license to go after the bowling.
3. Angkrish Raghuvanshi
Angkrish Raghuvanshi was pretty impressive in his maiden IPL season. The 20-year-old scored 163 runs in seven innings while striking at 155.23. He was used as an impact player and mostly batted at No. 3. He could slot in at that number once again. KKR could give him a few opportunities. However, if he doesn’t perform consistently, they could well turn to the experienced Ajinkya Rahane.
4. Venkatesh Iyer (captain)
Venkatesh Iyer has been a vital cog in the KKR setup over the last few years. He has featured for them in the last four seasons and has performed consistently. Barring 2022 which was his worst IPL season, Iyer has produced in excess of 350 runs and they’ve come at a good rate as well. In 2024, he aggregated 370 runs at an average of 46.25 and a strike-rate of 158.79 and consistently produced impactful knocks in the middle-order. Given the money KKR have spent on him, Venky Iyer could well be their next skipper.
5. Rinku Singh
It was a below-par 2024 season for Rinku Singh. The UP left-hander made just 168 runs in 11 innings at a strike-rate of 148.67. With the KKR top-order doing really well, he did not get a lot of opportunities to bat higher up as well. But Rinku is a game-changer towards the back end of an innings. He scored 474 runs while striking at 149.52 in the 2023 edition. Plus, he’s performed very well for India in T20Is, scoring 507 runs in 22 innings at a strike-rate of 165.14. He hit five sixes in an over to win KKR a game against GT back in 2023.
6. Andre Russell
Two overseas players have nothing but KKR blood through and through. One is Narine and the other is Andre Russell. The West Indies pace-bowling all-rounder has played for KKR for a decade now and he has 2426 runs at a strike-rate of 175.79. He’s taken 114 wickets with the ball. Russell has a strike-rate of 188.95 at the death in the last three years. He got 222 runs while striking at 185.00 last season and even returned with 19 wickets with the ball.
7. Ramandeep Singh
Ramandeep Singh was one of the retentions for KKR ahead of the auctions. The 27-year-old is a dynamic player who can contribute across all three facets of the game. He didn’t bowl a lot last season but did well in the limited opportunities with the bat. He made 125 runs while striking at 201.61 and was dismissed only four times. Ramandeep even impressed while playing for India ‘A’ in the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup recently when he got 94 runs at a strike-rate of 191.83 and took three wickets with the ball. Add to that, he is absolutely electric in the field.
8. Harshit Rana
Harshit Rana has only gone from strength to strength in the last few months. After playing eight games across the 2022 and 2023 seasons where he took six wickets, he finally got a consistent run in the KKR side in 2024. And he reaped rewards. The 22-year-old fast bowler picked up 19 wickets in 13 matches and had a bowling strike-rate of 13.3. He played a key role in KKR’s run to the title. Since the IPL 2024, Rana was picked in the India T20I side for the Bangladesh series before he made his Test debut in Perth and impressed quite a bit.
9. Spencer Johnson
Spencer Johnson is one of the impressive names coming through the ranks in the Australian cricket circuit. He was a big name that was picked up in the auction last year when he went for INR 10 crore and was bought by Gujarat Titans. He played only five games and took four wickets. However, the left-arm fast bowler has had a solid run in T20Is this year, taking 12 wickets in six T20Is. He recently took a fifer against Pakistan. Thus, he could be KKR’s premier overseas pacer and could bring in a nice left-arm angle.
10. Vaibhav Arora
Vaibhav Arora bowled very well in the 2024 edition. He took 11 wickets in 10 matches and nine of those scalps came in the powerplay. He showcased his ability to swing the new ball and was one of the bowlers KKR depended on in the powerplay. The 26-year-old pacer will be expected to more of the same this time around as well. With Rana, Russell and Johnson in the ranks to handle the death, Arora will mostly be used with the new ball.
11. Varun Chakravarthy
Barring the IPL 2022, Chakravarthy has been a very consistent performer for KKR over the years. Chakravarthy was the leading wicket-taker for KKR in the 2024 season of the IPL. The Tamil Nadu mystery spinner picked up 21 wickets at an economy of 8.04. He took 20 scalps in the 2023 edition as well and had an economy of 8.14. He took 35 wickets in 30 games in the 2020 and 2021 seasons combined. Thus, he will be their premier spinner once again with Narine.
Impact Player: Manish Pandey/Ajinkya Rahane
Pandey played just one game in the 2024 season for KKR and made 42 off 31 balls. He was padded up a few times to walk in as an impact sub but he wasn’t required much. It could be the same this time around as well. But if they lose two or three early wickets, even someone like Ajinkya Rahane can walk in. He fared well for CSK in 2023, scoring 326 runs in 11 innings at a strike-rate of 172.48. In 2024, he made 242 runs while striking at 123.46.strike-rate of 172.48. I
