Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane has sent out an early statement ahead of IPL 2026, showcasing his intent with a blistering knock in a practice game. The veteran batter smashed 58 off just 25 balls, bringing up his half-century in only 20 deliveries before voluntarily walking off to allow other players time in the middle.Despite a disappointing 2025 campaign, where KKR finished eighth with just five wins in 14 matches, the franchise has continued to back Rahane as skipper. The 37-year-old had been their leading run-scorer last season with 390 runs in 13 matches at an average of 35.45 and a strike rate of 147. 73, even as the team struggled to defend their title.Heading into the new season, Rahane made it clear that he is embracing the responsibility with a calm and optimistic outlook. “Every year, there are different challenges as a player and also as a captain. What I learned throughout my journey is be positive each and every time, whatever challenges are there,” he said during the team’s first media interaction.“I’ve been leading the team since last year and really grateful to the franchise that they gave me this responsibility to lead the team. Taking everything in my stride, taking everything in a positive way. There are always opportunities, there are challenges, you always see opportunities.“My mindset has always been like that throughout my career, that if I see any challenges or particular, if something difficult is, I look at it in a positive way and try to give my best as a player and also as a captain,” he added.With the lessons from last season in mind, Rahane stressed the importance of a strong start while maintaining consistency across the tournament. “As a team, we would like to start really well this season,” he said.“It’s a long tournament and you don’t want to peak too early. As a team, and also the expectations from the boys, basically, you don’t actually looking for a perfect game. There are going to be errors throughout the tournament.“But as a unit, what we would like to do is we play positive brand of cricket. So as a unit, as a team management, we are really confident about the side that will do really well this season.”KKR enter IPL 2026 with a revamped squad, particularly in the batting department. The franchise parted ways with experienced players like Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer, while making significant investments at the auction, including a record Rs 25.20 crore signing of Cameron Green.The new-look squad features aggressive options such as Finn Allen and Tim Seifert, alongside Sunil Narine and Rahane at the top of the order.Despite the depth in batting, Rahane chose not to reveal the team’s combinations. “The batting group which we have this year is amazing. I mean, most of the batters, they’re in good form. Guys from overseas also in good, very good nick. Had a very good World Cup as well.“See, frankly, I’m not going to tell you the lineup, what lineup we are going to go with, but as I said, all the batters who are here at the moment are very good in nick, very good in nick, and we just started our camp with this before, so really excited for the season,” he said.
