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3 IPL 2025 Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Stars Who Could Turn It Around In IPL 2026
Follow UsThe 2024 IPL Champions finished eighth in IPL 2025, a disappointing campaign
Despite Shreyas Iyer’s departure, there were widespread hopes that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) would defend their title in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. However, Ajinkya Rahane and his men had a shambolic year, finishing in the bottom half of the table, in eighth place with just 12 points.
Like SRH and CSK, KKR had an off season because of the failure of their high-profile players, who couldn’t live up to their success from the previous year. Who are the three names out of that list who can turn it around in IPL 2026?
Andre Russell
Andre Russell wasn’t totally out of form, but there wasn’t that typical impact one would expect from the West Indian all-rounder. In IPL 2025, the big Jamaican could only score 167 runs with the bat, striking at 163.72, but barring one clash, there wasn’t too much impact from him.
Even with the ball, Russell struck eight times, but had an economy rate of 11.94. KKR would hope that Russell would repay the faith in IPL 2026.
Rinku Singh
Since his breakthrough year, Rinku Singh’s form with the bat has been highly inconsistent. Normally known as a match-winner, the Uttar Pradesh batter didn’t live up to the expectations, scoring just 206 runs in the entire IPL 2025 season.
While his average (29.42) is still on the higher end for a finisher, the problem is that his strike rate has now dipped to just 153.73. Rinku’s obvious weakness against spin – 23.4 avg and 139.29 – too resurfaced last year. The left-hander will hope to turn his fortunes in IPL 2026.
Venkatesh Iyer
The biggest disappointment for KKR last year was, hands down, Venkatesh Iyer. At the IPL 2025 mega auction, the 2024 champions put a lot of faith (INR 23.75 crore) in Iyer, hoping that he will take them to greater heights in IPL 2025. But as it turned out, the left-hander had a punctured form.
Iyer could only score 142 runs in the season, averaging a meagre 20.28. If the left-hander does turn his fortunes around, then KKR’s middle-over woes might be a problem of the past.