Ajinkya Rahane took a corner seat, leaving the centre for Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Chandrakant Pandit and the newly-appointed team mentor Dwayne Bravo. Vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer was at the other end.
Usually, captains are expected to be at the centre, especially when a franchise is holding its first press conference of the season. But that’s how Rahane has been, never craving for centrestage. He chose to take a back seat after guiding India to arguably their greatest-ever Test series win, in Australia in 2020-21. He refused to hog the limelight after captaining Mumbai to the Ranji Trophy triumph in 2023-24. No wonder that even as the KKR skipper for this year’s IPL, he intended to sidestep attention. It’s another matter that the majority of the questions at the presser was directed to him.
Once the defending IPL champions decided to part ways with Shreyas Iyer, they needed to address the leadership void. Venkatesh, bought for a staggering Rs 23.75 crore at the mega auction, was a serious option. But the KKR hierarchy eventually chose Rahane, considering his pedigree and a stellar record as a skipper at various levels. The dressing room of an IPL side is an amalgamation of Indian superstars, international stars and uncapped players, and the management decided to play safe by turning to a proven leader.
Maybe, there was a dilemma. Rahane went unsold in the first round of auction and KKR bought him almost as an afterthought. The 36-year-old is also not an automatic pick in the playing XI. Whether Rahane expected KKR captaincy was a logical question at the presser and his reply left scopes for reading between the lines. “I was only hearing it from you guys (reporters) when I was playing domestic cricket,” said Rahane before opting for the stereotype. “Frankly speaking, my only focus at that point of time was giving my best for the Mumbai team, playing domestic cricket. But again, as I mentioned, it is an honour for me to lead this wonderful franchise.”
All said and done, Rahane is not going to be judged against his predecessor, as by his own admission, via a recent interview, Shreyas lamented not getting enough “recognition” for leading KKR to the title. From the franchise’s perspective, last season was mostly about Gambhir, and taking that into consideration, Bravo has big shoes to fill.
The KKR management is certainly aware of the impending comparison that will begin in earnest once the IPL gets underway on March 22. It felt like there’s a conscious effort to come out of Gambhir’s shadow.
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The first question to Bravo was expectedly about the team’s erstwhile mentor. The Trinidadian, who established himself as an IPL legend as a Chennai Super Kings player, handled it well. “I think it’s going to be disrespectful of me not to try and find out some of the good things he (Gambhir) did last season,” said Bravo, while adding: “But I think GG has his style, I have my style. We are both successful in our own ways.”
Bravo, though, spoke about messaging his predecessor “a few times”.
Another Gambhir-related question came on its heels, but Pandit stopped it in its tracks. “It’s better not to talk about the past and focus on the present instead,” said the head coach.
Can KKR escape Gambhir’s influence as they get ready to defend their title? Time will tell.
Venkatesh and the price-tag syndrome
On the face of it, buying back someone who is not even in India’s T20I set-up for Rs 23.75 crore defied logic. But the auction dynamics sometimes can be unpredictable and KKR desperately wanted to bring the all-rounder back to their fold after initially releasing him. There’s a chance that Venkatesh might be weighed down by the price tag and the player knows that.
“Obviously, wherever I go, I get asked this question. So, it is existent, right? You can’t ignore it altogether,” Venkatesh made a frank and honest admission.
But he talked logic. “When the IPL will start, it really doesn’t matter. You are part of a playing XI. You are part of a team that is going out there to win.”
Also Read: Ajinkya Rahane, the accidental skipper, could be IPL’s surprise package
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