New Delhi: Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) campaign at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 came to a disappointing end on Saturday as they faced elimination after a washed-out game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday. There were high expectations of a clash as IPL returned after a seven-day break, only to be abandoned due to persistent rain in the Karnataka capital, which even barred a toss.
The return leg fixture was an imitation of the tournament opener in which the same two teams took part to kickstart the IPL 2025 proceedings. They could have done the same on Saturday by resuming the temporarily halted league, but the rain gods had the last laugh. Nonetheless, KKR, winner of the IPL 2024, became the fourth team to be eliminated from the trophy quest this season and has successfully botched up their title defense.
The two teams shared a point each, and KKR now languish at the sixth spot, taking 12 points out of 13 games, with five wins and six losses, and two games without any outcomes. Although defending the title surely isn’t a piece of cake, it was some abysmal decisions that cost KKR a spot in the playoffs this season. Here’s a look at some major reasons behind KKR’s downfall.
Captaincy change
It seems roping in Ajinkya Rahane as captain didn’t bore them many fruit this season. Although the veteran player managed to lead them to five wins (so far), he missed the spark that Shreyas Iyer had brought to the team in the previous year. Many have already criticised KKR for not opting to retain Iyer, as teams usually don’t release their skippers who have led them to a title triumph before.
Adding to their misery, KKR now have to watch Iyer hustling for the Punjab Kings (PBKS), which signed him for a lucrative amount ahead of this season and also handed him the captaincy. The result? PBKS sit third in the points table and are well on course towards a playoff qualification.
Opening pair mess
Having tried eight different opening pairs in IPL 2023, KKR could manage just two fifty-plus stands. The management resolved this problem the following year by pairing Sunil Narine with Phil Salt at the top. The duo rocked the season with five fifties and one century partnership for the first wicket in only 12 innings.
But this year, they have managed zero fifty partnerships for the opening wicket. Releasing Salt was another mistake. He is now rocking for RCB, and his replacement, Quinton de Kock, didn’t yield significant results.
Middle-order dilemma
It is understood that T20 cricket is an evolving format, and teams usually opt for a flexible batting order for several reasons. There are major reasons behind promoting or demoting a batter, but it seems KKR overcomplicated their strategy at times. They tried three batters at no. 3, six at no. 4, three at no. 5, and four batters at no. 6. This cost them two botched run chases – vs Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by four runs and vs PBKS by 16 runs (chasing 112). Had they won these two games, they could have been sitting third right now.
No intimidating overseas pacer
Although Mitchell Starc, who grabbed headlines last season for KKR, had a very ordinary outing then, he proved his mettle for the team in Qualifier 1 and in the crucial final against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). They released him as well and showed faith in Anrich Nortje and Spencer Johnson, who couldn’t create a similar impact this year. Rahane had to deploy Andre Russell at times to fulfill that gap.
The Venkatesh Iyer quandary
KKR had shockingly released Venkatesh Iyer ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, along with the likes of Mitchell Starc and Phil Salt. It is understood that the management would have retained the whole squad if the rules allowed them to. But the KKR management stunned everyone by leaking Rs 23.75 crore on Venkatesh Iyer, who went on to endure a dismal campaign, scoring only 142 runs in seven innings, and failing to cross even 15 in five of those.
It would be safe to say KKR have been on the wrong side of things this year, not acknowledging that fine margins can both make and break an IPL campaign.
Kolkata Knight Riders are out of the IPL 2025 playoffs contention as rain washed out their away fixture against RCB on Saturday. Here’s a look at the major reasons why the defending champs faltered this year. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
