Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) enter the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season as the reigning champions, having pulled off arguably the most dominant campaign in IPL history in 2024. Despite the hurdle of their mega auction, most of KKR’s title-winning core has remained. However, some big changes have also taken place. Gautam Gambhir now wears blue, not purple. So does Abhishek Nayar, who was instrumental in nurturing the team’s Indian core. And most importantly, while captaincy has been handed to capable hands, it isn’t someone of the KKR mould.
Strengths: KKR’s biggest strength comes largely thanks to the incredible purple patch of one man – Varun Chakravarthy. The mystery spinner is in the form of his life, and seems to have a touch of gold everytime he picks up the ball. Even though he is 33, and Sunil Narine is 36, the duo form the unquestionably the spin attack of the most pedigree out of any team.
KKR’s other big strength? The three Rs – Rinku (Singh), (Andre) Russell and Ramandeep (Singh). Two of them are already established. But add in the rising and rising Ramandeep, and KKR arguably have the best lower-middle order in the tournament as well.
Weakness: While the Knight Riders have managed to keep most of their core, the people who have left have left big shoes to fill. Phil Salt, Shreyas Iyer and Mitchell Starc are no longer there despite playing monstrous roles in their title win. Salt ensured that KKR finally had a reliable opener, Shreyas was unbeaten in every run chase in 2024, and Starc delivered when it mattered most.
Quinton de Kock, Ajinkya Rahane and Spencer Johnson are no slouches, but on paper, represent a slight drop in form and T20I pedigree. Specially for Rahane, who at 36, has an enormous Shreyas-sized gap to fill, both as a player and as a leader.
Opportunity: Last year, KKR paid dividends for their faith in youth, as Vaibhav Arora made his mark in the powerplay and Harshit Rana emerged as a standout bowler. They had Starc as a big brother figure too. This year, Harshit and Vaibhav are expected to lead the attack. It’s a huge responsibility, but also a huge opportunity to establish themselves as two of the best Indian pacers in the business.
IPL 2025 can also be a big opportunity for KKR youngsters with the bat. Angkrish Raghuvanshi has given us some teasers, as has Luvnith Sisodia. If the stars align, they can make a big mark this year.
Threat: 2024 was the dream season. Nearly every single move that KKR played, worked. Narine at the top? Success. Paying Rs 23.75 crore on one player? Success. A fit Russell for the entire year? Success. Every player seemed to be in form, every player contributed well.
The biggest threat for KKR will be that several of these stars may not be able to replicate their form from 2024. How KKR cope without the best of every player will decide how they fare.
KKR Strongest Playing XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Spencer Johnson, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy.
Impact Players: Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Luvnith Sisodia
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