IPL 2025: 3 Weaknesses of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

Kolkata Knight Riders, the defending champions, picked Ajinkya Rahane in the mega auction and named him as the captain. They shelled out INR 23.75 crore for Venkatesh Iyer and named him as the vice-captain. The team had retained a total of six players before going into the auction. Some of the notable names that missed the list were Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, Mitchell Starc, and Phil Salt. All four of them will play for different franchises this season.

The team managed to pick six players in the auction who were a part of the franchise last year. They picked Umran Malik in the auction for INR 75 crore; however, he has been ruled out and has been replaced by Chetan Sakariya. Sakariya was a part of KKR’s squad last season as well. 

Here are the 3 weaknesses of Kolkata Knight Riders:

1. Inexperienced pace attack

Anrich Nortje and Spencer Johnson are the two overseas pacers in the squad. Nortje is likely to find a regular place in the playing 11. Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, and Chetan Sakariya are the three Indian pacers in the bowling unit. Last season, Starc played a huge role in the qualifier and final. However, the team lacks a player of his caliber and this might cost them in the long run.

2. Opening Woes

The presence of Salt and Sunil Narine at the top of the order played a crucial role for the team. The duo provided some fiery starts to the team and dominated right from the word go. However, Salt is not a part of the squad and will be playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru this season. Quinton de Kock is highly likely to take Salt’s place in the batting order. However, it might not yield the same result.

3. Leadership Transition

Ajinkya Rahane will become the first Indian player to captain three franchises in the IPL this year. As a captain, Rahane has won nine out of 25 games. However, he has some big shoes to fill considering under Shreyas Iyer KKR won the IPL trophy after 10 years.

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