Will Ajinkya Rahane follow the path of Gautam Gambhir? (Photo- PTI)
IPL 2026 Performance in Kolkata Knight Riders: IPL 2026 is proving to be no less than a nightmare for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). KKR team has played 6 matches so far this season, but it has not got even 1 win. It has faced defeat in 5 matches and 1 match was washed out due to rain. In such a situation, along with the captain, the team management is also under question. Something similar happened with the Delhi team in the year 2018, but then captain Gautam Gambhir had taken a big decision for the team. In such a situation, the question now is whether anyone will come forward to bring the KKR team back on track or not?
Will Ajinkya Rahane follow the path of Gautam Gambhir?
Let us tell you, the beginning of the year 2018 for Delhi was also very bad. Then the team had lost 5 out of the first 6 matches. Then Gautam Gambhir left the captaincy of Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals). Gambhir himself took responsibility and said that he was not able to handle the captaincy. He accepted the pressure and handed over the command of the team to Shreyas Iyer. That decision of Gambhir was very much discussed at that time.
Now the situation of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 2026 IPL season looks quite similar. The three-time champion team is performing very poorly in its debut. In such a situation, questions are now being raised whether there will be any accountability fixed in the management of the team? Will any major decision be taken, like change in captaincy, consideration of coaching staff or improvement in strategy? Delhi had also adopted the same path during Gambhir’s time, where the captain himself tried to give a new direction to the team by resigning. In such a situation, will Ajinkya Rahane leave the captaincy for the betterment of the team or will he work on a new strategy. The demand for accountability is also gaining momentum among the fans, because good performance is always expected from a big team like KKR.
Ajinkya Rahane’s poor performance
Ajinkya Rahane is not only failing as a captain, but he is also not able to do anything special as a batsman. Ajinkya Rahane has played 6 matches so far in IPL 2026 and has scored only 152 runs at an average of 30.40. During this period, only 1 half-century has come from his bat. He has also changed his batting position at the beginning of the season, but nothing is working. Every one of their plans is failing, which has become a big tension for the team.
Last year too, under the captaincy of Ajinkya Rahane, the team’s performance was not anything special. In IPL 2025, Kolkata Knight Riders team could win only 5 out of 14 matches and faced defeat in 7 matches. Due to which she could not qualify for the playoffs. This season too, the team is in danger of being out of the playoff race. Now for him every match is like do or die.
