Former India cricketer and commentator Murali Kartik has thrown his weight behind Ajinkya Rahane, calling him the standout captain of IPL 2026. Kartik\u2019s praise centres on Rahane\u2019s ability to steer Kolkata Knight Riders through a season filled with setbacks, keeping the franchise within touching distance of the playoffs right up to the last day of the league stage. In Kartik\u2019s view, the leadership shown by Rahane deserves far more recognition than the numbers alone might suggest.<\/p>\n
In the end, KKR ended IPL 2026 in seventh place on the points table and missed out on a playoff berth. Their exit was confirmed after Rajasthan Royals beat Mumbai Indians, ending KKR\u2019s hopes of qualifying. Even so, Kartik believes Rahane\u2019s captaincy should still be judged through the lens of what the team had to overcome across the campaign.<\/p>\n
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Kartik highlighted the circumstances surrounding KKR\u2019s run, pointing to injuries, player unavailability, and the criticism Rahane faced early in the tournament. \u201cOne of the reasons is that half of his group was already gone before he even won the first moment,\u201d Kartik said. \u201cThe second thing is the kind of darts being thrown at him from the beginning of the season, which wasn\u2019t his doing. There were many players who weren\u2019t delivering.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kartik added that, given those conditions, Rahane\u2019s achievement becomes even more impressive. \u201cTo lift them up from there and nearly take them to qualification with that kind of run, with that kind of squad, I\u2019ll give it to him.\u201d He also noted that while some captains get the luxury of stable surroundings, Rahane had to operate under constant pressure. \u201cOthers have settled people around them. They know what they are doing. But for an individual, everybody was throwing darts at him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Summing up his reasoning, Kartik said Rahane\u2019s response to adversity is what separates him. \u201cTo come back from that and lift the side up, that\u2019s why I\u2019ll go with Rahane.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rahane\u2019s second season as KKR captain unfolded under difficult circumstances from the outset. The franchise was hit by multiple problems even before it could find rhythm in the tournament. Fast bowler Harshit Rana missed the entire season after knee surgery, while Akash Deep was ruled out with a lumbar stress injury. Matheesha Pathirana also suffered a hamstring injury and was unavailable for most of the campaign. He did return for a single match, but after bowling just one over he was sidelined again due to injury.<\/p>\n
KKR faced another blow when Mustafizur Rahman was not available ahead of the tournament. The wicket-taker was released after instructions from the BCCI to the franchise.<\/p>\n
The early phase of the season reflected those struggles. KKR couldn\u2019t win any of their first six matches, managing only one point from a rain-affected contest against Punjab Kings. At that point, their chances of reaching the playoffs looked close to over.<\/p>\n
However, KKR then produced one of the most impressive recoveries of IPL 2026. The side won six of their last eight league games, forcing their way back into contention and keeping their playoff hopes alive until the final day of the league stage.<\/p>\n
Throughout that turnaround, Rahane himself was also under close scrutiny. He started the competition well, striking 67 off 40 balls, but his batting output slowed as the tournament progressed. By the end of IPL 2026, Rahane had scored 335 runs in 14 matches, averaging 25.76 and striking at 135.08.<\/p>\n
Even with those relatively modest batting returns, Kartik believes Rahane\u2019s most significant impact came from his role as a leader. Managing an injury-hit squad, dealing with outside criticism, and overseeing a dramatic recovery after a poor start were key elements in Kartik\u2019s decision to name the KKR captain as his captain of the season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former India cricketer and commentator Murali Kartik has thrown his weight behind Ajinkya Rahane, calling him the standout captain of IPL 2026. Kartik\u2019s praise centres…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Murali Kartik Backs Ajinkya Rahane as KKR Captain in IPL 2026","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Murali Kartik says Ajinkya Rahane\u2019s calm, tactical leadership has made him KKR\u2019s standout captain in IPL 2026\u2014pushing the team near playoffs.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n