KKR captain for IPL 2026 announced

In what has been the latest development, as per the reports in Times of India, it is learned that Ajinkya Rahane is all set to continue as the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). He will continue as a captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, which will begin on March 28.

Ajinkya Rahane, who was handed the captaincy of KKR last year, was expected to play as a pure batter in the IPL 2026. However, with KKR unable to find a proper captaincy candidate in the auction, it meant that they had to continue with Rahane.

Ajinkya Rahane has a great record as a captain as he has taken India to big wins and also guided Mumbai to domestic titles. However, KKR didn’t have a great time as they finished in eighth spot in the IPL 2025 under Rahane.

Rahane had a decent season with the bat as he scored 390 runs at an average of 35.45. The IPL 2026 will be a great opportunity to do something special and take KKR to their fourth title in the league, having won in 2012, 2014 and 2024.

Ajinkya Rahane to work with Abhishek Nayar and Andre Russell in IPL 2026

With Ajinkya Rahane set to continue as the captain of KKR, he will be joining hands with Abhishek Nayar, who will be the head coach, and Andre Russell, who will serve as the team’s “power coach.” The all-rounder announced his retirement and took up the coaching role.

KKR also roped in some great players in the IPL 2026 auction. They acquired the likes of Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Cameron Green, and Matheesha Pathirana. They would want to bring their best and win the title.

KKR's best XI for IPL 2026

Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Ajinkya Rahane (c) Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Varun Chakravarthy, Matheesha Pathirana. 

Impact player: Angkrish Raghuvanshi.