2025 Kolkata Knight Riders season
Indian Premier League cricket team
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The 2025 season was the 18th season for the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket franchise Kolkata Knight Riders. They were one of the ten teams that competed in the 2025 IPL. They were the defending champions. Ahead of the season, Ajinkya Rahane was announced as the captain, replacing Shreyas Iyer. The team was coached by Chandrakant Pandit.
| 2025 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Eden Gardens, home ground of Kolkata Knight Riders | |||
| Coach | Chandrakant Pandit | ||
| Captain | Ajinkya Rahane | ||
| Ground(s) | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | ||
| League stage | 8th place | ||
| Most runs | Ajinkya Rahane (390)[1] | ||
| Most wickets | Varun Chakravarthy Vaibhav Arora (17 each)[2] | ||
| Most catches | Rinku Singh (9)[3] | ||
| Most wicket-keeping dismissals | Quinton de Kock (3)[4] | ||
| |||
Kolkata Knight Riders were the fourth team to be eliminated from the 2025 IPL and finished the season in eighth place with five wins from 14 matches. Captain Rahane scored the most runs (390) while Varun Chakravarthy and Vaibhav Arora took the most wickets (17 each) for Kolkata in the 2025 season.
Pre-season
The 2025 Indian Premier League was the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).[5] Kolkata Knight Riders were the defending champions having won their third title in the previous season.[6] The tournament featured ten teams competing in 74 matches from 22 March to 3 June 2025.[7][8] Kolkata played all their home matches at Eden Gardens.[9]
Player retention
Franchises were allowed to retain a maximum of six players from their squad, including a maximum of five recent international players.[10] Franchises were required to submit their retention lists before 31 October 2024.[11] Kolkata retained six players, but did not retain their prior captain Shreyas Iyer.[12][13]
| No. | Player | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rinku Singh | ₹13 crore (US$1.3 million) |
| 2 | Varun Chakravarthy | ₹12 crore (US$1.2 million) |
| 3 | Sunil Narine | ₹12 crore (US$1.2 million) |
| 4 | Andre Russell | ₹12 crore (US$1.2 million) |
| 5 | Ramandeep Singh | ₹4 crore (US$420,000) |
| 6 | Harshit Rana | ₹4 crore (US$420,000) |
| Batters | Wicket-keepers | All-rounders | Fast bowlers | Spin bowlers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Auction
The season's auction took place on 24 and 25 November 2024 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.[15] The auction purse for each franchise was set at ₹120 crore (US$12 million), with the franchises being deducted an amount from the purse for each retained player.[16][17] Kolkata had a purse remaining of ₹51 crore (US$5.3 million).[18] Franchises that did not retain six players, were allowed Right-to-Match (RTM) cards at the auction for each player not retained.[19] Kolkata had no cards left.[20] Kolkata bought fifteen players in the auction, including ten capped players and five overseas players.[21]
Squad
- Players with international caps as of start of 2025 IPL are listed in bold.
- Ages are as of 22 March 2025.
- Withdrawn players are indicated by a dagger symbol (†) and placed at the bottom of the table.
| S/N | Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Salary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Anrich Nortje |  South Africa | 16 November 1993 (aged 31) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | ₹6.5 crore (US$670,000) | Overseas |
| 3 | Ajinkya Rahane |  India | 6 June 1988 (aged 36) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | ₹1.5 crore (US$160,000) | Captain[23] |
| 9 | Manish Pandey | India | 10 September 1989 (aged 35) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | ₹75 lakh (US$78,000) | |
| 10 | Moeen Ali |  England | 18 June 1987 (aged 37) | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | ₹2 crore (US$210,000) | Overseas |
| 11 | Mayank Markande | India | 11 November 1997 (aged 27) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | ₹30 lakh (US$31,000) | |
| 12 | Andre Russell |  West Indies | 29 April 1988 (aged 36) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | ₹12 crore (US$1.2 million) | Overseas |
| 13 | Quinton de Kock | South Africa | 17 December 1992 (aged 32) | Left-handed | N/a | ₹3.6 crore (US$370,000) | Overseas |
| 14 | Vaibhav Arora | India | 14 December 1997 (aged 27) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast medium | ₹1.8 crore (US$190,000) | |
| 18 | Angkrish Raghuvanshi | India | 5 June 2004 (aged 20) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | ₹3 crore (US$310,000) | |
| 19 | Ramandeep Singh | India | 13 April 1997 (aged 27) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | ₹4 crore (US$420,000) | |
| 21 | Rahmanullah Gurbaz |  Afghanistan | 28 November 2001 (aged 23) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium fast | ₹2 crore (US$210,000) | Overseas |
| 22 | Harshit Rana | India | 22 December 2001 (aged 23) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast medium | ₹4 crore (US$420,000) | |
| 25 | Venkatesh Iyer | India | 25 December 1994 (aged 30) | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | ₹23.75 crore (US$2.5 million) | |
| 29 | Varun Chakravarthy | India | 29 August 1991 (aged 33) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | ₹12 crore (US$1.2 million) | |
| 35 | Rinku Singh | India | 12 October 1997 (aged 27) | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | ₹13 crore (US$1.3 million) | |
| 45 | Anukul Roy | India | 30 November 1998 (aged 26) | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | ₹40 lakh (US$42,000) | |
| 47 | Spencer Johnson |  Australia | 16 December 1995 (aged 29) | Left-handed | Left-arm fast | ₹2.8 crore (US$290,000) | Overseas |
| 55 | Chetan Sakariya | India | 28 February 1998 (aged 27) | Left-handed | Left-arm medium fast | ₹75 lakh (US$78,000) | Replacement[a] |
| 73 | Luvnith Sisodia | India | 15 January 2000 (aged 25) | Left-handed | N/a | ₹30 lakh (US$31,000) | |
| 74 | Sunil Narine | West Indies | 26 May 1988 (aged 36) | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | ₹12 crore (US$1.2 million) | Overseas |
| N/a | Shivam Shukla | India | 11 December 1995 (aged 29) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | ₹30 lakh (US$31,000) | Temporary[b] replacement[c] |
| 52 | Rovman Powell † | West Indies | 23 July 1993 (aged 31) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | ₹1.5 crore (US$160,000) | Overseas; withdrawn[c] |
| N/a | Umran Malik † | India | 22 November 1999 (aged 25) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | ₹75 lakh (US$78,000) | Withdrawn[a] |
- Chetan Sakariya replaced Umran Malik, after the latter withdrew due to injury.[25]
- Kolkata Knight Riders signed Shivam Shukla as temporary replacement, following the IPL's suspension and rescheduling.[24][26]
- Shivam Shukla replaced Rovman Powell, after the latter withdrew due to tonsils.[24]
Support staff
In September 2024, it was announced that Chennai Super Kings's bowling coach, Dwayne Bravo, would join Kolkata in a mentorship role replacing Gautam Gambhir.[27] In March 2025, Ottis Gibson and Carl Crowe joined Kolkata in an assistant coach and bowling coach roles replacing Abhishek Nayar, Omkar Salvi and Ryan ten Doeschate.[28][29][30]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Chandrakant Pandit |
| Assistant coach | Ottis Gibson |
| Bowling coach | Bharat Arun Carl Crowe |
| Mentor | Dwayne Bravo |
- Source: Wisden[31]
League stage
Kolkata Knight Riders began their season with a loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru;[32] won against Rajasthan Royals,[33] lost to Mumbai Indians,[34] defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad, lost to Lucknow Super Giants, defeated Chennai,[35] lost to Punjab Kings[36] and Gujarat Titans.[37] Their next match against Punjab was abandoned due to rain.[38] Kolkata won the next two matches against Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan,[39] but lost to Chennai.[40] Following another abandoned match due to rain against Bengaluru;[41] Kolkata were eliminated from the 2025 IPL. They lost their last match of the season to Hyderabad.
Points table
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | Punjab Kings | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 0.372 | Advance to Qualifier 1 |
| 2 | A | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 0.301 | |
| 3 | B | Gujarat Titans | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0.254 | Advance to Eliminator |
| 4 | B | Mumbai Indians | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 1.142 | |
| 5 | B | Delhi Capitals | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 15 | −0.011 | Eliminated |
| 6 | B | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 13 | −0.241 | |
| 7 | B | Lucknow Super Giants | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 12 | −0.376 | |
| 8 | A | Kolkata Knight Riders | 14 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 12 | −0.305 | |
| 9 | A | Rajasthan Royals | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 8 | −0.549 | |
| 10 | A | Chennai Super Kings | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 8 | −0.647 |
League progression
| Win | Loss | No result |
- Note: The total points at the end of each group match are listed.
- Note: Click on the points (group matches) or W/L (playoffs) to see the match summary.
Fixtures
Kolkata Knight Riders (H) 174/8 (20 overs) |
v |
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 177/3 (16.2 overs) |
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the toss and elected to field.
Rajasthan Royals (H) 151/9 (20 overs) |
v |
Kolkata Knight Riders 153/2 (17.3 overs) |
- Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
Kolkata Knight Riders 116 (16.2 overs) |
v |
Mumbai Indians (H) 121/2 (12.5 overs) |
- Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to field.
- Ashwani Kumar (Mumbai Indians) made his IPL debut.[43]
Kolkata Knight Riders (H) 200/6 (20 overs) |
v |
Sunrisers Hyderabad 120 (16.4 overs) |
- Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and elected to field.
- Kamindu Mendis (Sunrisers Hyderabad) made his IPL debut.[44]
Lucknow Super Giants 238/3 (20 overs) |
v |
Kolkata Knight Riders (H) 234/7 (20 overs) |
- Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
- This match was originally scheduled for 6 April but was rescheduled to 8 April.[45]
Chennai Super Kings (H) 103/9 (20 overs) |
v |
Kolkata Knight Riders 107/2 (10.1 overs) |
- Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
Punjab Kings (H) 111 (15.3 overs) |
v |
Kolkata Knight Riders 95 (15.1 overs) |
- Punjab Kings won the toss and elected to bat.
- Xavier Bartlett and Josh Inglis (Punjab Kings) made their IPL debuts.[46][47]
Gujarat Titans 198/3 (20 overs) |
v |
Kolkata Knight Riders (H) 159/8 (20 overs) |
- Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
Punjab Kings 201/4 (20 overs) |
v |
Kolkata Knight Riders (H) 7/0 (1 over) |
Sunil Narine 4* (3) |
- Punjab Kings won the toss and elected to bat.
- No further play was possible due to rain.
Kolkata Knight Riders 204/9 (20 overs) |
v |
Delhi Capitals (H) 190/9 (20 overs) |
- Delhi Capitals won the toss and elected to field.
Kolkata Knight Riders (H) 206/4 (20 overs) |
v |
Rajasthan Royals 205/8 (20 overs) |
- Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to bat.
Kolkata Knight Riders (H) 179/6 (20 overs) |
v |
Chennai Super Kings 183/8 (19.4 overs) |
- Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to bat.
- Urvil Patel (Chennai Super Kings) made his IPL debut.[48]
v |
||
Sunrisers Hyderabad (H) 278/3 (20 overs) |
v |
Kolkata Knight Riders 168 (18.4 overs) |
- Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and elected to bat.
- This match was originally scheduled for 10 May at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium,[51] before being rescheduled.[49]
Statistics
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| Runs | Player |
|---|---|
| 390 | Ajinkya Rahane |
| 300 | Angkrish Raghuvanshi |
| 246 | Sunil Narine |
| 206 | Rinku Singh |
| 167 | Andre Russell |
| Wickets | Player |
|---|---|
| 17 | Varun Chakravarthy |
| 17 | Vaibhav Arora |
| 15 | Harshit Rana |
| 12 | Sunil Narine |
| 8 | Andre Russell |