While the legendary Ravichandran Ashwin said that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have managed to assemble a strong team at the IPL 2026 mini-auction,
he wondered whether his former India teammate Ajinkya Rahane would continue as their skipper.
Under Rahane's leadership, KKR finished eighth last season. Fans and experts questioned some of the decisions taken by the experienced Mumbai batter during IPL 2025, as KKR won only five out of the 14 matches they played.
The KKR management went in for an overhaul, entering the IPL 2026 mini-auction on Tuesday, December 16, with the highest purse of INR 64.3 crore. They made some massive purchases, including star all-rounder Cameron Green and death-over specialist Matheesha Pathirana. Among the Indian players, Akash Deep and Rahul Tripathi were some of the renowned faces signed by the three-time champions.
Apart from KKR, Ashwin believes that the Rajasthan Royals, who had traded all-rounders Sam Curran and Ravindra Jadeja into their setup in exchange for Sanju Samson last month, also performed well at the auction as they roped in Ravi Bishnoi for INR 7 crore.
"KKR have a terrific side, I don't know whether Ajinkya will lead. But, if he leads that side with composure, that is one side to reckon with. Another team is the Rajasthan Royals, after doing such big trades, you come into the auction and bag Ravi Bishnoi for 7 crore. RR cooked in the auction, they are in an amazing position now," Ashwin said in a video uploaded to his official YouTube channel.
"KKR did not run after Venkatesh Iyer, so I think that Cameron Green will open the batting, while Rahane might either open or bat at No.3. The biggest challenge for KKR is how they can bring Pathirana back to his best. If they can manage to squeeze in Pathirana's overs with the mystery spinners, how will opponents score? KKR are one hell of a team," the former India off-spinner opined.
