Kolkata Knight Riders Season Preview IPL 2025: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are the defending champions for 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) and will look to replicate their form from last season despite losing key names from their title-winning squad. KKR managed to retain majority of their core players before and at the IPL 2025 auction but some of the key names will not be turning out in their Purple and Gold this season. Ajinkya Rahane is their new captain for the season, replacing Shreyas Iyer whom KKR could not retain at the auction. Destructive opening batter Phil Salt, middle-order steel Nitish Rana as well as pace spearhead Mitchell Starc will not feature for the three-time winners either. However, they have roped in quality stars in Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje in addition to Rahane hoping to add another silverware to their trophy cabinet. The likes of Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh were retained, while Venkatesh Iyer, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Vaibhav Arora were bought back for varying sums. Old faces Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey and Anukul Roy have returned to Eden Gardens as Moeen Ali, Spencer Johnson, Umran Malik and Luvnith Sisodia will want to make their first bow for KKR memorable. The roles arguably remain the same for KKR with new faces looking to leave an impact. Mentor Gautam Gambhir has left too having taken up the coaching duties for the Indian men’s international team and IPL legend Dwayne Bravo has filled the vacancy. The Chandrakant Pandit-coached side will want to engage the core and lift the title once again. How KKR Fared In IPL 2024 KKR won their third IPL as Gambhir made a memorable return after having led the franchise to two titles as a player. The Kolkata-based franchise finished on top of the IPL 2024 points table with the highest net-run rate in the history of the tournament. KKR thrashed SRH twice – in Qualifier 1 and the final – to become the champions. Strongest KKR XI For IPL 2025 Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Anrich Nortje, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora/Angkrish Raghuvanshi (Impact Sub) KKR Full Squad For IPL 2025 Ajinkya Rahane (C), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Anrich Nortje, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Spencer Johnson, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, Umran Malik Kolkata Knight Riders Full Schedule For IPL 2025 March 22: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Kolkata – 7:30 PM IST, Eden Gardens March 26: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati – 7:30 PM IST, Barsapara Cricket Stadium March 31: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Mumbai Indians (MI) in Mumbai – 7:30 PM IST, Wankhede Stadium April 3: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Kolkata – 7:30 PM IST, Eden Gardens April 6: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Kolkata – 3:30 PM IST, Eden Gardens April 11: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Chennai – 7:30 PM IST, MA Chidambaram Stadium April 15: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Punjab Kings (PBKS) in New Chandigarh – 7:30 PM IST, New PCA Stadium April 21: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Gujarat Titans (GT) in Kolkata – 7:30 PM IST, Eden Gardens April 26: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Kolkata – 7:30 PM IST, Eden Gardens April 29: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Delhi Capitals (DC) in Delhi – 7:30 PM IST, Arun Jaitley Stadium May 4: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Kolkata – 3:30 PM IST, Eden Gardens May 7: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Kolkata – 7:30 PM IST, Eden Gardens May 10: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Hyderabad – 7:30 PM IST, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium May 17: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Bengaluru – 7:30 PM IST, M Chinnaswamy Stadium