Kolkata Knight Riders started their campaign in IPL 2025 as the defending champions. However, the season went completely different from the previous season as they finished at the eighth position in the points
table with just five wins and seven losses. Coming with a new captain, the three time champions KKRcouldn’t continue their dominant form from the last season and had a disappointing outing in IPL 2025.
One of the main reasons for KKR’s poor performance in IPL 2025 was lack of consistent performances from the top-order batters. Quinton De Kock played a match-winning knock of 97* runs in the second game against Rajasthan Royals but didn’t give any remarkable performance after that. Rahmannullah Gurbaz also got opportunities to open the innings for a few matches but couldn’t make any impact. Sunil Narine was a bit impressive but wasn’t able to givve consistent performances as he amassed 246 runs from 12 matches at an average of 22.36 and a strike rate of 170.83.
It looked like the KKR missed Phil Salt in their line-up who played a crucial role in their 2024 triumph as an opening batter and also made a great pair with Sunil Narine. It is most likely that KKR will look to find a stable middle-order batter in the upcoming IPL 2026 auction.
Let’s have a look at some talented opening batters that KKR might target in the IPL 2026 mini-auction:
1. Ishan Kishan
Wicketkeeper batter Ishan Kishan was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 11.25 crore in the mega auction last year and had a great start to his IPL 2025 campaign with a century in the opening match. However, after his heroics in the first match, Ishan couldn’t do anything remarkable for the rest of the season and registered a series of failures. He managed to score 354 runs from 14 matches at an average of 35.40 and a strike rate of 152.58. There can be chances that SRH release him ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. If it happens, KKR are likely to get Ishan Kishan in their squad either via trade or bid for him in the auction. He can turn out to be a great choice for KKR and can form a good opening pair with Sunil Narine.
2. Arpit Rana
21-year-old Arpit Rana turned out to be a star in the recently ended Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2025. Playing for East Delhi Riders, Rana finished as the leading run-scorer of the season amassing 495 runs from 11 matches at an average of 55 and a strike rate of 146.88. He is likely to come in the IPL 2026 auction and most of the franchises will be looking to get him in their squad for the upcoming season. KKR are likely to be the first to bid for him in the IPL 2026 auction and spend a huge amount on him to make him the next superstar for the franchise.
3. Rachin Ravindra
Another opening batter which KKR are likely to bid for in the IPL 2026 auction could be star New Zealand batter Rachin Ravindra. The 25-year-old was a part of Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2025. However, after an underwhelming season, CSK are likely to release him ahead of IPL 2026 auction. If this happens, KKR might show interest to get him in their squad via trade or a bid in the auction. Rachin and Sunil Narine can form a good opening pair and KKR can also make good use of him as a handy spin bowler.
