• Source:JND
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Kolkata Knight Riders had a disappointing campaign in the IPL 2025 as they finished eighth and managed to win just five out of their 14 matches.

Things didn't go well for KKR after Shreyas Iyer moved to Punjab Kings (PBKS). Iyer led KKR to a title win in IPL 2024, but he was not retained by the franchise, after which the star batter was roped in by PBKS for a whopping 26.75 crore in the auction.

KKR made some debatable decisions in IPL 2025 and retained Venkatesh Iyer for a huge amount of 23.75 crore. The team named Ajinkya Rahane the captain for the side. Iyer didn't have a great season, while Rahane's captaincy looked outdated, and KKR paid the price for their decisions. The team, however, is keen to rectify things ahead of IPL 2026.

According to Gaurav Gupta from TOI, KKR is keen on acquiring KL Rahul through a trade deal for IPL 2026. Notably, Rahul was roped in by Delhi Capitals (DC) for INR 14 crore in the mega auction after he parted ways with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). He had a great season for the Axar Patel-led side and scored over 500 runs. Rahul's inclusion can prove to be a game-changing decision for KKR as the senior wicketkeeper-batter can fix multiple issues for them. He could be a good fit in the unstable middle order for KKR, and also don the keeping gloves if required. If Rahul joins KKR, he will surely take up the team's leadership duties as well.

Recently, KKR parted ways with their head coach Chandrakant Pandit after three seasons. The franchise also let go of bowling coach Bharat Arun. The former India bowling coach joined LSG after parting ways with KKR. Pandit had guided KKR to the title win in IPL 2024.

While there is no confirmation for the possible replacements of Pandit and Arun, a few reports claim that Eoin Morgan is in line to become the new KKR coach, while Zaheer Khan can join the franchise as bowling coach.

Currently, Rahul is having a memorable outing with the bat in India's ongoing Test series in England. He has been consistent in the longest format of the game lately, having impressed while opening the batting in Australia and England.

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