The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 is just around the corner, and the teams have started their preparations. The tournament will kick off on March 22 with the opening match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). All the teams underwent reshuffles after the mega-auction that was conducted in November 2024.

The majority of IPL franchises have made new captains for their teams. Recently, KKR announced Ajinkya Rahane as their new skipper. With this, Rahane is all set to become the first Indian player to lead three different IPL franchises. Additionally, this is going to be his second IPL season with KKR after 2022.

Anjinkya Rahane to achieve a unique feat in IPL 2025

The upcoming IPL season will make Ajinkya Rahane the first Indian player to lead three different franchises; he is also going to be the fourth player to do so. In the past, Rahane has led Rising Pune Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals in his IPL career. The players who have previously led three different teams in the IPL are Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardhane, and Steve Smith.

Apart from franchise cricket, Ajinkya Rahane holds the significant experience in leading the national team. In BGT 2021-22, the player led the Indian team to a famous series victory by 2-1. Venky Mysore, the CEO of Kolkata Knight Riders, also admitted to the fact that Rahane would bring in the maturity and experience to the team and handle them in the high-intensity tournament.

"IPL is quite an intense tournament. We think very well of Venkatesh Iyer, but at the same time, [captaincy] is taxing on a youngster. We have seen lots of people facing challenges with it as they go forward. It takes a very steady hand, a lot of maturity, and experience, which we felt Ajinkya brings with him. It takes a very steady hand, takes a lot of maturity and experience, which we felt Ajinkya brings with him," said Mysore.