Kolkata Knight Riders' team bus seemed to be leaving for the stadium without their captain Ajinkya Rahane ahead of one of their practice sessions before the IPL 2025 opener against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. In a video surfaced on social media, Rahane was seen running with a bat in hand and looked to enter the bus before it leaves.
Rahane will turn out for the Knight Riders this year after not being retained by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) after his below-par performance for the franchise in IPL 2024. Hence, the defending champions seized the opportunity by snapping him for ₹1.5 crore in the auction held last year in Saudi Arabia.
Rahane also has captaincy experience, having led the Rajasthan Royals before. The Knight Riders will kick off IPL 2025 by facing the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). However, the entire match could be washed out, given there is prediction of rain in the evening.
KKR are ahead in head-to-head battle against RCB
Meanwhile, the Knight Riders are ahead in head-to-head battle as they have won 20 matches out of 34 contested between the two sides thus far since 2008.
They had memorably locked horns in the 2008 edition when Brendon McCullum's 73-ball 158* lifted Kolkata to 222 and they eventually won by 140 runs. RCB are also hunting their first title, having fallen short thrice in the final.
The Knight Riders had also beaten the Royal Challengers on both occasions in IPL 2024. However, they both have new captains for IPL 2025, with Ajinkya Rahane leading the three-time champions and Rajat Patidar skippering Bengaluru.
