Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will have a new leader in IPL 2025 as they released their captain Shreyas Iyer before the mega-auction. KKR tried to re-sign Iyer but they didn't make many bids for him. They spent a huge amount on all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer and re-signed him for Rs 23.75 crore.

Venkatesh now seems to be among the leading contenders to make his IPL captaincy debut. He plays for Madhya Pradesh in domestic cricket but has never done captaincy despite being capped.

A month before the start of the season, Venkatesh has said that is ready to lead KKR if there is an opportunity. "Definitely. Definitely, I'm ready. Again, I've always said this: captaincy is just a tag. I believe in leadership. That is a bigger role to play, being a leader," KKR all-rounder told ESPNcricinfo.

"You don't necessarily need the tag of a captain to be a leader in your dressing room. You need to set examples. You need to be a good role model, both on and off the field, which I am doing right now in MP. I'm not the captain of the MP team, but my opinions are respected and I really love to be in an atmosphere where every individual - again, new or experienced, 20 lakhs, 20 crore, whatever - you just need to have the freedom to voice your opinion. Or you just need to have the freedom to give opinions and give suggestions and them to be taken in the right spirit."

Rahane, another contender to lead KKR, rejoined the franchise in the mega-auction. He had his maiden stint with the three-time IPL Champions in 2022. Rahane has captained Rajasthan Royals in IPL.

He is the former vice-captain of Team India. Under him, a second-string India pulled off a heist and won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020/21. Rahane was part of Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2023 and 2024.

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