IPL 2025: 3 impact player options for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

Indian Premier League 2024 champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) hope to repeat their historic title win in the upcoming 2025 season. But for that to become a reality, they would need to fill in many gaps left from last year. 

KKR don’t have the liberty of Phil Salt at the top of the order, which means they will have to start with Quinton de Kock. That means some in-form players, such as Ajinkya Rahane, Anukul Roy and Mayank Markande, will have to be impact options. 

Who are the three players who could be KKR’s impact players?

Angkrish Raghuvanshi

Angkrish Raghuvanshi only made his IPL debut in 2024, but he instantly impacted for KKR with a 27-ball 54 on his debut against Delhi Capitals, striking at 200. Raghuvanshi consistently put up impactful performances throughout the season, finishing the season with a strike rate of 155.2.

KKR could rely upon the 20-year-old again this season to slot effortlessly into the middle order and have a similar impact on the team. He only played four games for Mumbai in SMAT 2024 and averaged 28 with the bat. 

Ajinkya Rahane

KKR are so stacked in the batting unit that they might not have a choice but to leave out red-hot Ajinkya Rahane. But thanks to the impact player rule, they can utilise the right-handed batter at No.3.

Rahane wasn’t just good; he was the best batter in SMAT 2024/25, with 469 runs in the tournament, striking at 164.56. The right-hander has time and again shown his strength against pace, and he continued in SMAT, where he struck at 165.85 against pacers. Not to forget his improved range against spin (121 runs @98.5 avg)

Vaibhav Arora

KKR have utilised Vaibhav Arora as the impact player. There’s a good chance that the trend will also continue this year, considering they already have a jam-packed XI. 

The right-arm seamer had a good SMAT season for Himachal Pradesh, where he picked up five wickets with an impressive economy of 7.00, averaging 22.40.