Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane on Sunday admitted that his team's bowling was excellent in IPL 2025, but the performance of the batsmen was poor.
After suffering a humiliating 110-run defeat at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday, Rahane said, 'This season has been full of ups and downs for us. We had chances, but we did not play well as a team. If you win close matches, it makes a difference.'
The KKR captain further said, 'The matches against Punjab Kings, Lucknow Supergiants and Chennai Super Kings were a bit different. As a captain, I saw that everyone tried to do their best. It is never easy to come into the season as a defending champion because the expectations are very high.'
No pressure on Iyer
Rahane said, 'All I can say is that we tried to give our best and we will come back strongly next year.' The KKR captain defended Venkatesh Iyer, who was bought by KKR for Rs 23.75 crore and then made the vice-captain of the team.
Venkatesh Iyer did not have a good season and he could score only 142 runs in 11 matches. Rahane said, 'Look, I can say that whether a player is bought for Rs 20 crore or Rs 2 crore, the behavior inside the field does not change. I did not feel that something like this happened with Iyer.'
Rahane defends Venkatesh
He said, 'Venkatesh Iyer was focused on the right things. He was training hard. He was dedicated during the match and was trying to contribute. His behavior was excellent. Any player can have a bad season. It is not about the pressure of money or price tag but about form and team combination. Unfortunately for us, three players were not in form together and that made a big difference.'
Batsmen have to learn: Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane was KKR's top scorer in IPL 2025. He scored 390 runs in 13 matches.
"Sometimes after a few good seasons, you start expecting more from yourself and this increases the pressure. This is human nature. You did well, people expect from you and you start proving how you can get better while playing your natural game. Two or three of our batsmen went through a bad phase. We all need to learn from this." Ajinkya Rahane expressed hope that Rinku Singh and Ramandeep will return to form soon. He also said that KKR batsmen will learn from their mistakes and perform better in the next season.
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