2 min readMar 23, 2026 07:39 PM IST
Former Indian cricket Mohammad Kaif has said that the Kolkata Knight Riders should consider grooming other players for the captaincy role this season. In the 2025 auction, KKR decided to go for Mumbai’s Ajinkya Rahane, who was then handed the captaincy. Under Rahane’s stewardship, the Knight Riders finished outside of the 2025 Playoffs.
Kaif has had a closer look at Rinku than most. The former India batter from Uttar Pradesh has watched Rinku play for their state’s team and feels that the 28-year-old could develop his leadership skills further based on his successful domestic game.
“KKR should groom Rinku Singh as a future captain. Rinku Singh is an all-format player. Although he is not part of the Test team, he can bat well in all formats. I come from UP and I know what he does for UP. A lot of batters score runs, but his runs come in winning cause. So, that guy is ready and captains UP,” Kaif said on his latest YouTube video.
He then added, “He has the mental strength to handle captaincy and batting together. They have a guy who is ready. Now it remains to be seen if they give him the captaincy after Rahane, do it mid-season, or make him the vice-captain. Just get him in the mix, it will be a long-term investment for KKR.”
Kaif also said that Venkatesh Iyer was initially considered for the captaincy when KKR went over Rs 20 cr in the IPL auction but then chose to go for Rahane as well.
“Even that call was taken very late. Rahane was picked towards the end of the auction, which means he was not in the plans for captaincy. It felt like they were looking for a future captain when they spent ₹23-24 crore for Venkatesh Iyer. But they later went with Rahane because of his captaincy experience.”
