Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) did not have as good a tournament as they would have liked in the IPL 2025. The defending champions failed to qualify for the playoffs as rain interrupted the match between them and RCB on May 17. However, they were practically out of the race even before the washed-out game.
A lot had to do with KKR’s mistakes, be it at the auction table or in the tournament.
KKR had to let go of some of their key players from the IPL 2024, especially their former skipper, Shreyas Iyer, who has been better than all KKR batters in the 18th edition of the league. Additionally, they lost someone like Phil Salt, who provided a lot of stability at the top and was also the wicketkeeper, an aspect of the game which has come back to bite KKR in the IPL 2025.
5 things that went wrong with KKR in the IPL 2025
1. Change in batting order
In 2024, KKR’s top order had the likes of Phil Salt, Sunil Narine, and Angkrish Raghuvanshi. When Salt went for national duty, Raghuvanshi was bumped up as the opener, and Venkatesh Iyer batted at 3. In the middle order, they had the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, and Venkatesh. It is worth noting that Venkatesh’s best performances came at number 3.
Their finishing had Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, and Ramandeep Singh. In the IPL 2025, they have had Sunil Narine and Ajinkya Rahane at the top with a constant change in wicketkeepers – Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Raghuvanshi and Venkatesh, who succeeded in the top order, batted mostly in the middle order. The change in batting order did not work well for the three-time champions.
2. Unsettled middle order
In the middle order, KKR had Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh, and Ramandeep at different points. When the latter failed to perform, he was replaced with Manish Pandey and lower-middle-order batters, at times. Without a doubt, their middle order looked unsettled, especially due to the fact that many of them were batting out of their positions.
A better alternative would have been to open with Raghuvanshi, play Iyer at Number 4, and have an anchor like Manish Pandey at 5, which would have been a better batting lineup. Narine could have been used as a floater, although he performed well at the top, more often than not. Even in the wicketkeeper-batter option, KKR did not have a consistent performer.
3. Mediocre mega auction
KKR did not have a great mega auction in November 2024 after winning their third title. They did not get someone to lead their side and had to choose Ajinkya Rahane as their skipper, who does not have age on his side though. Apart from some key retained players, KKR did not buy bowlers who could make a difference with their spells, and rather relied on those who did not operate at a good pace.
While they did buy some good pacers like Anrich Nortje and Spencer Johnson, the former got fewer chances while the latter did not get enough backing. They had a settled wicketkeeper-batter like Salt, who was not brought back. Instead, KKR went for Gurbaz and De Kock, both of whom have not performed as well as one would have expected.
4. Failures of some key players
KKR’s key players like Venkatesh Iyer, wicketkeepers like Gurbaz and De Kock, and the medium pacer Vaibhav Arora have not performed well for them. Iyer was sold for a whopping price of INR 23.75 crore, but he has not lived up to the expectations. While he played key knocks for KKR in the previous edition, Venkatesh has given a poor performance for the defending champions on the whole this season.
Likewise, Arora, who was a key pacer for KKR in 2024, has failed with both new and old balls in 2025. The three-time champions had a solid wicketkeeper-batter like Salt in the last edition. In 2025, both of their wicketkeeper-batters, De Kock and Gurbaz, have had forgettable seasons, barring a few good performances. Their death bowling was generally mediocre.
5. Underutilization of Andre Russell
Andre Russell in the IPL 2024 was quite incredible. Despite the presence of the Impact Player rule, he was given chances and played as a proper all-rounder, contributing both as a batter and a bowler. KKR virtually played with 13 players every match, as Russell was also one of their proper bowlers. In 2025, it has not been the case, as he has not been asked to bowl enough overs.
Russell single-handedly won matches for KKR with just the ball in the IPL 2024. He claimed 19 wickets in 14 innings at an average of just 15.52 and a terrific strike rate of 9.2 in 29.2 overs. He was the fourth-highest wicket-taker and was among the top death bowlers of the season. In 2025, Russell has bowled just 16.1 overs in eight innings, taking same number of wickets at an average of 22.87, in what has been a visible reduction in workload.