IPL 2027 – KKR need new captain following Ajinkya Rahane’s retirement

Unless KKR acquire a captain at the auction later this year or via a trade, vice-captain Rinku Singh appears the leading candidate to replace Rahane, who had led the franchise across the past two IPL seasons.

Rinku was handed KKR’s vice-captaincy for the first time ahead of IPL 2026, a move the franchise had described as part of his leadership development.

“Over the years, we’ve seen Rinku Singh evolve not only as a cricketer but also as a leader,” KKR head coach Abhishek Nayar had said in the lead-up to IPL 2026. “For the past couple of years, while his performances have spoken for themselves, I think off the field, without saying a lot, he is someone that the team looks forward to [hearing].

“We wanted a little more responsibility for Rinku to shoulder and I feel it’s the perfect time, after being a World Cup champion, to come in, take on that responsibility and help Ajinkya Rahane take the reins over.”

If appointed, Rinku will arrive with limited senior captaincy experience but an encouraging record. He led Meerut Mavericks to the UPT20 title in 2024 before they finished runners-up in 2025, winning 13 of their 18 matches across the two seasons. He has also captained Uttar Pradesh in List A cricket since replacing Bhuvneshwar Kumar ahead of the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy.

The other captaincy option is Sunil Narine. The 38-year-old is the highest wicket-taker in the IPL among overseas bowlers and has represented KKR since 2012, making him one of the franchise’s longest-serving players. While he has never captained KKR, Narine remains an integral part of the Knight Riders set-up, having also represented Trinbago Knight Riders, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and Los Angeles Knight Riders.

An outside candidate already on KKR’s roster is Rovman Powell, who captained West Indies in 37 times between 2022 and 2024 in T20Is. He played two games for KKR in IPL 2025 and 11 in IPL 2026.

The trade window will remain open until a week before the auction, which is usually held in December, and then again after the auction ends. The BCCI is yet to finalise the dates for teams’ retention deadline, which usually falls in November.

KKR’s decision could ultimately come down to how they view their future. With just one season remaining in the current three-year IPL cycle (2025-27), they could opt for a stop-gap captain in 2027 before reassessing their leadership options for the next cycle.

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