Will Ajinkya Rahane Be Remembered As IPL’s First Specialist Captain?

Bhargav Dixit

Ajinkya Rahane hasn't led in the IPL since 2019. [Source: @ajinkyarahane88/X]Ajinkya Rahane hasn't led in the IPL since 2019. [Source: @ajinkyarahane88/X]

For a large part of cricket’s existence, the word “specialist” wasn’t a thing. It was only after the advent of T20s that the sport started taking specialists seriously across formats. Over the years, there have been batting and bowling specialists.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if the next few years witness the rise of captaincy specialists especially in the shortest format. As the most fast-paced and evenly-contested cricketing format, T20 is also the most revolutionary format in spite of being the youngest.

Kolkata Knight Riders appointing Ajinkya Rahane as their eighth Indian Premier League captain is not your customary cricketing decision. In plain English, neither the defending champions not retaining a title-winning captain was customary nor them handing the reigns to a 36-year-old out of favour player customary. In fact, the move has it in it to set forth the concept of a specialist captain in the biggest T20 across the globe.

Is Ajinkya Rahane A Specialist Captain?

Not really. But probably. There’s a reason why the former Rising Pune Supergiant and Rajasthan Royals captain remained unsold in the first round of IPL 2025 auction.

In spite of being the highest run-scorer during Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024/25 held post the auction, on paper, the odds are against him. On paper, one doesn’t expect experts to even give him a chance. And why should they?

Out of the 30 players who have captained in a minimum of 25 IPL matches, Rahane (36%) is only better than Mahela Jayawardene (33.33%) and Kumar Sangakkara (31.91%) in terms of win percentage.

Overall, a total of 46 top-order batters have batted at least 200 times in a T20. One of them, Rahane isn’t in the top 30 in terms of runs scored, strike rate and 50+ individual scores.

Additionally, Rahane’s 146 sixes are only better than Gautam Gambhir’s 88. Gambhir, however, is fondly remembered for leading Knight Riders to two title wins. Irrespective of how he bats this season, even a single title under Rahane would mean much more to the franchise considering the last-minute buy that he was.

In spite of all the arguments against it, one understands why Kolkata have handed Rahane the all-important responsibility. Rahane, who might never play a T20I for India ever again, has a golden opportunity to prove all doubters wrong. While doubts can be subjective, numbers are not. Hence, in a rarity, Rahane also has an opportunity to prove numbers wrong.

Ajinkya Rahane Chasing A Rare Streak

A veteran of 271 T20s, Rahane has been part of three title-winning campaigns (including one as captain) out of the seven finals that he’s been part of in the format. Having led Mumbai to a Syed Mushtaq Ali title in 2022, Rahane lifted a maiden IPL title at Chennai Super Kings the following year.

In 2024, a year when Shreyas Iyer had already led KKR to a third IPL title, Rahane played an instrumental role under him to power Mumbai to an SMA trophy for the second time. It would be quiet a remarkable streak for Rahane to lift a fourth consecutive T20 title in as many years. But ensuring that KKR become the third franchise to defend an IPL title wouldn’t be as easy as ABC.

Assuming it happens, the right-handed batter will become the first player to be able to defend an IPL title in spite of not leading the franchise the previous season. With all of this possible at this stage of his career, Rahane has lots to achieve at an age when athletes suffer from a deficiency of motivation.