Latest news with #AjinkyaRahane
NDTV
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
KKR Partners With IPL Broadcaster's For A Special Screening Of Mufasa: The Lion King
In a heartwarming initiative that blended cricket with cinematic magic, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the defending champions of the TATA IPL, collaborated with JioHotstar for a special partnership to host an exclusive screening of Mufasa: The Lion King at their camp. The initiative served as an opportunity for the players to unwind and spend some time together with their families after a high-octane season in the IPL. KKR players including Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Moeen Ali, Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje and Anukul Roy were a part of the special screening alongside their families. The movie, originally released in December 2024, is now available for streaming on JioHotstar. The family entertainer is also dubbed in Hindi with KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan lending his voice for the lead role, alongside his sons. Aryan Khan voiced Simba in the movie, while Abram Khan voiced young Mufasa. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kolkata Knight Riders (@kkriders) The screening served as a reminder of the powerful moments that take place off the cricket field, while also imparting plenty of learnings for the children. Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane shared his learnings from the movie, stating, 'This movie teaches kids about values, respect, legacy amongst other things. So, it was a lot of fun to watch with everyone.' Reflecting on the engaging experience with his teammates and family, Varun Chakaravarthy added, 'It's a brilliant movie. I saw it with my wife and my son, so we had a great time. My son also enjoyed the movie. It's the first time SRK, Aryan and Abram are lending their voices together, so cheers to them. They've done a great job.' Also expressing her thoughts on the initiative, Binda Dey, Chief Marketing Officer, Knight Riders Sports, 'Watching our Knights unwind and enjoy the film with their cubs was nothing short of magical. It was a beautiful reminder that sometimes, the most powerful moments happen off the pitch.'
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
KKR miss Gautam Gambhir's aura, Shreyas Iyer's midas touch; surrender meekly
Kolkata Knight Riders' Sunil Narine with captain Ajinkya Rahane and Harshit Rana. (PTI Photo) One of the biggest questions going into IPL 2025 was whether defending champions KKR could cope without their talisman Gautam Gambhir . The ex-India batter had resigned from his role as KKR's mentor to take on the responsibility of being the national team's head coach, throwing fans in a state of panic. The Kolkata-based franchise had earlier struggled massively following Gambhir's exit as captain, reaching the playoffs only twice. However, the ex-India batter's return as KKR's mentor in IPL 2024 transformed the franchise completely, converting them from an under-confident unit to one capable of beating the best. Unheralded players like Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora stepped up as the Kolkata-based franchise won the IPL for the first time since the 2014 season. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Gambhir's departure was further followed by the exit of KKR's IPL 2024 winning captain Shreyas Iyer , due to a disagreement over the retention sum. Losing such key figures in a short duration can be a stern challenge for the best which KKR soon realised. A paucity of proven candidates for the captain's role forced the franchise to attempt a left-field move by handing Ajinkya Rahane the captaincy. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo KKR further assigned ex-West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo the massive responsibility of filling in Gambhir's shoes. Who's that IPL player? However, things certainly did not go in favour of the franchise despite Rahane attempting to encourage an aggressive approach. One of the biggest factors behind KKR's success in IPL 2024 was the focus on performing as a unit. However, the same simply went missing in IPL 2025. KKR recorded three wins in their opening seven matches, failing to step up even during the business end. Two consecutive wins against DC and RR sparked hopes of a turnaround, which never transpired as the Rahane-led side ended their campaign with a 110-run loss against SRH. One of the biggest factors behind KKR's dominance in IPL 2024 was the form of Sunil Narine, who smashed 488 runs at a strike rate of 180.74, chipping in with 17 wickets. However, Narine's performance suffered a sharp decline as he barely managed to score 246 runs, accounting for 12 dismissals. KKR also badly missed the presence of opener Phil Salt, who'd scored 435 runs at a strike rate of 182.01 in IPL 2024, with the decision to pick Quinton de Kock failing miserably. Ajinkya Rahane reflects on KKR's inconsistent IPL 2025, backs under-fire Venkatesh Iyer Even the likes of Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh and Venkatesh Iyer had a forgettable campaign. Iyer was signed for Rs 23.75 crore in the auction, but finished with just 142 runs in 11 matches while Rinku accumulated 206 runs in 13 games. Ramandeep, who'd emerged as a reliable campaigner in IPL 2024, barely scored 47 runs in 11 matches. Russell's reputation as a match-winner further suffered a hit after accumulating 167 runs in 13 games, with a duck in the final clash summing up his season. Fans have also questioned head coach Chandrakant Pandit's inability to implement his philosophy in Gambhir's absence. While Vidarbha managed to pull off a win in the bleakest of situations under Pandit, the same certainly didn't reflect this season. Poll Will KKR be able to bounce back in IPL 2026? Yes, they have potential No, they need major changes Maybe, depends on the strategy Cannot predict KKR's fortunes with the ball seemed reliant on Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy, who was the joint top-wicket taker with 17 dismissals. The franchise failed to find a suitable replacement for Australian pacer Mitchell Starc, with the likes of Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana proving quite expensive, recording economy rates of 10.11 and 10.18 respectively. Arora and Rana's lack of penetration with vital dismissals especially raised eyebrows, despite finishing their campaigns with 17 and 15 wickets respectively. "There was a thrill factor that I miss. Gambhir has an aura in the way he carries the team forward," revealed Rana, showcasing the India head coach's impact. KKR will definitely need to rethink their approach and may well rue their decision not to retain Shreyas, considering his success at PBKS, who've reached the playoffs. "KKR have a lot of pieces to figure out. The fact that they've shelled out as much as they have for Venkatesh and not used him properly gives you a lot to think about. A lot of realigning needs to happen. There's been a lot of confusion," said JioStar expert Robin Uthappa, summing up the concerns plaguing the dethroned defending champions. Get IPL 2025 match schedules , squads , points table , and live scores for CSK , MI , RCB , KKR , SRH , LSG , DC , GT , PBKS , and RR . Check the latest IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings.
NDTV
26-05-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
Ajinkya Rahane Pinpoints Reason Behind Miserable IPL 2025 Campaign: "2-3 Players Not..."
It's never easy to do a proper dissection of where things went wrong in a season, especially after suffering one of the biggest defeats by margin of runs in an IPL game. But Ajinkya Rahane, skipper of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), stepped up to address where things didn't click for them in an underwhelming season ending with a crushing 110-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Rahane admitted that the batting order being consistently inconsistent in the season, especially with two-three players not in their prime, hurt them big time as a batting unit. It's further illustrated by the fact that Rahane ended up as KKR's leading run-getter in IPL 2025 – with 390 runs from 13 games. The second-best run-getter turned out to be Angkrish Raghuvanshi with 300 runs in 12 games. 'See, sometimes what happens is, when you have a couple of good seasons as an individual, you put a lot of expectation and pressure on yourself. I feel that was the case for most of the batters to prove how good I am, and it is completely natural. As a human being, when you are doing well and you had a couple of good seasons, it's very normal to have those expectations from yourself and also from the people.' 'I'm sure players, our boys, will learn from the mistakes, as there was lots to learn from this season. As a team, not for any particular individual, but for everyone. So many learnings from this season, but it can happen to any player. Unfortunately, 2-3 players were going through that phase for us, and that was the reason we couldn't do well in our batting unit.' 'But again, they are pretty much experienced enough to handle this situation. I'm sure they will come back stronger next year. That's why I said, when you have those expectations on yourself, you unknowingly put pressure whenever you go on to bat or when you bowl. So I'm sure Rinku, Raman, all the players, they will learn from the mistakes and come back stronger,' said Rahane in the post-match press conference. There was a school of thought that Rahane should have opened the batting for KKR, considering he donned the same role for Mumbai and became the leading run-getter in the side winning the 2024/25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with 469 runs in eight innings at a strong strike rate of 164. But with Sunil Narine having great success as an opener in their IPL 2024 win and Quinton de Kock being a specialist opener, Rahane stated he and Raghuvanshi took up middle-order roles. It's a different matter that despite some tweaks, KKR never had a fifty-run opening stand. 'See, we had those discussions. For me, it's always about the team. I can easily tell the management staff that I want to open. But you have to see the combination, and which batter can bat where. I thought, me and Angkrish, we can easily adapt to 3-4 situations, or he batted at 5 sometimes. Sunny had a very good season last year. We didn't want to change that.' 'Coming to the Championship, we didn't want to change too many things. Plus, Quinton, he is basically an opener. He cannot bat at the different number 3 or 4. So we thought, Angkrish and I, if we can bat those numbers 3 and 4, that will be good for us. We are just talking because those things didn't go our way, and that was the difference.' 'So I feel number 3 was ideal for me. If you ask me, I would love to open. I did really well in Mushtaq Ali Trophy. I did well when opening the team, opening the batting. But it's always about the team - what team needs, then wants from you, and what are the combinations you are looking at,' he elaborated. Before the start of the tournament, all eyes were on how Venkatesh Iyer would fare for KKR, especially after the franchise brought him back for a whopping Rs 23.75 crore in last year's auction. Iyer was also announced as KKR's vice-captain, but it didn't save him from having a poor season – 142 runs in 11 innings, and picking up a hand injury. Rahane dismissed concerns that Iyer wilted under pressure of a hefty price tag. 'See, what I can say is, if a player gets 20 plus crores, or 1/2/3/4 crores, your attitude doesn't change on the field, and that's what matters. As a player, you only focus on the controllable things. I feel, Venkatesh Iyer was actually focusing on the controllable things. He was practising hard, trying his best, even during the games, whichever matches he played before getting injured. I thought he did really well.' 'It's just that, for us, as a team, 3-4 guys were out of form. That was the only reason I thought why we struggled this year. But your attitude doesn't change. Someone's not going to work doubly harder if he's getting 20 plus crores, or someone's not going to work less harder when he's getting 1, 2, 3 crores.' 'Whatever it is, for us cricketers, it's always about following what is the things which we have in our hands, and the attitude. I thought his attitude was fantastic. He was always looking to contribute for the team on and off the field. One-off season, that can happen to any player. So it's not about the price tag. I don't think he was thinking about his price tag at all. But it's just one of those seasons that we had to go through,' he elaborated. While the batters' didn't click as a cohesive unit, Rahane did praise the bowlers for their overall show, though they were taken for cleaners by SRH's batters, as they posted a mammoth 278/3. With Varun Chakravarthy and Vaibhav Arora finished with 17 wickets each, seam-bowling all-rounder Harshit Rana picked 15 scalps. 'It was kind of a mixed thing for our bowlers. Harshit has been doing really well. He has done well for the franchise, went to the Indian team, did well there as well. Sometimes it's really challenging for a player who's playing at the highest level, high intensity games and coming after, immediately and coming here to do well. It's not an excuse, but again, as a player, that was a challenge for us.' 'Varun did well in the Champions Trophy - high intensity tournament. Sometimes that takes toll on your body and mind as well. I thought throughout the season, as a bowling unit, we did really well. Where we faltered slightly short was at the batting end, as collectively, we couldn't do well.' 'One or two odd games in this format, some bowlers will go for runs, but that's fine. As long as the thinking was clear from them, that was really important. I thought Harshit, Vaibhav, Varun, Sunny, all the bowlers who have played, their thinking was really clear. So, as a bowling unit, I thought we did decently well than our batting.' Rahane signed off by lamenting KKR's inability to win close games in the mid-way stage of the tournament. 'This season was kind of an up and down one. We had our moments and chances in couple of games, but we didn't play really well in close matches as a unit. But again, this format, that's how it goes. If you win close matches, those are the difference.' 'Games against Punjab Kings, LSG and CSK - I thought those 2-3 games would have been slightly different. But what I saw, felt and thought as a captain, the preparation wise, everyone tried their best. It's not that easy when you win a championship and come into the next season for defending the championship. As a team, we tried our best, but what I can say is we'll come back really strong the next year.' Listen to the latest songs, only on
Indian Express
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
‘As a batting unit, collectively, we couldn't do well': KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane
Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane said that underwhelming batting efforts throughout the season cost KKR their title. However, he also said that the pressure of expectations on the batters might also have played a factor in them not performing well. 'It's just that for us as a team, three-four guys were out of form. Where we faltered was at the batting end. As a batting unit, collectively, we couldn't do well. Unfortunately, two-three players were going through that phase for us. And that was the reason we couldn't do well…But again, they are pretty much experienced enough to handle this situation. I'm sure they will come back stronger next year…Rinku (Singh), Raman (Ramandeep Singh), all the players, they will learn from the mistakes and come back stronger,' Rahane said after the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday. 'When you have a couple of good seasons, as an individual, you put a lot of expectation on yourself. You put pressure on yourself. And I feel that was the case for most of the batters, to prove, you know, that how good I am. And it is completely natural. I'm sure our players, will learn from the mistakes. It's a lot to learn from this season, as a team. Not for any particular individual, but for everyone. So many learnings from this season,' he added. Kolkata ended their season on a low note when they were thrashed by SRH by a massive 110 runs which resulted in them finishing 8th in the table. SRH had posted a 278/3, the third highest IPL total in history, thanks to the third fastest century by Heinrich Klaasen. Chasing, KKR were all out for 168 runs. All their top batters who had clicked last season like Venkatesh Iyer (average 20.28), Andre Russell (18.55), Rinku Singh (29.42) and Ramandeep Singh (9.40) had a tournament to forget while auction buy Quinton de Kock couldn't plug in the gap left by Phil Salt.
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
'Not written anywhere...': Virender Sehwag blasts KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane
New Delhi: Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane warms up before an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 T20 cricket match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, in New Delhi. (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav) *** Local Caption *** Former India opener Virender Sehwag has blasted Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane for putting himself ahead of team. KKR bowed out of the tournament with a 110-run loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. 'It is not written anywhere that a captain has to bat in the top three," Sehwag told Cricbuzz. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! "Look at Pant, he was sending players ahead of him, because they were in form and LSG took advantage of that," he said. 'KKR could have done the same. This was the team management and the coaching staff's responsibility. See, even CSK did it against GT. Shivam Dube and Dewald Brevis came up the order, they changed that up from the recent matches," Sehwag said. With 390 runs in 13 matches, Ajinkya Rahane was the leading run-getter for KKR. In the post-match press conference on Sunday, Rahane had defended his decision not to open for KKR. Rahane was the highest run-scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali, playing for Mumbai, he amassed 469 runs in eight innings with a breezy strike rate of 164. 'Yes, I'd love to open. I've done well in Mushtaq Ali and other formats as an opener. But it's about what the team needs,' he said. Who's that IPL player? With Quinton de Kock fixed as an opener and last season's success behind Sunil Narine's explosive starts, Rahane said he and Angkrish Raghuvanshi adapted to middle-order roles. 'We didn't want to change too much from a winning combination. We thought 3 and 4 was ideal for us.' Rahane also admitted that while the bowling unit did a commendable job in the IPL 2025, it was the batting that fell short. "This season has been kind of up and down for us. We had our chances, but as a unit, we didn't play really well," Rahane said. "If you win close matches, those are the differences. And the Punjab Kings game, LSG game, and also the CSK game, I thought those 2-3 games could have been slightly different. 'What I saw as a captain was that everyone tried their best. It's never easy to come into a season as defending champions — expectations are high. But I can say we gave our best and we'll definitely come back stronger next year,' he added. Get IPL 2025 match schedules , squads , points table , and live scores for CSK , MI , RCB , KKR , SRH , LSG , DC , GT , PBKS , and RR . Check the latest IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings.
