{"id":3797,"date":"2026-04-19T13:53:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T13:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens"},"modified":"2026-04-19T13:53:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T13:53:05","slug":"rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens","title":{"rendered":"Rahane\u2019s second straight duck sparks KKR captaincy concerns at Eden Gardens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ajinkya Rahane\u2019s struggles have turned into a full-blown headache for Kolkata Knight Riders, with the franchise rooted at the foot of the IPL 2026 points table as the tournament edges toward its halfway stage. On Sunday, in a demanding Eden Gardens contest, the captain fell for the second straight outing to a duck\u2014this time departing on the second ball he faced against Rajasthan Royals. The collapse followed an even more brutal setback two days earlier, when he was dismissed for a golden duck against Gujarat Titans at Ahmedabad.<\/p>\n<h2>Rahane\u2019s slide continues as KKR hit another low<\/h2>\n<p>KKR\u2019s season has offered little respite, and Rahane\u2019s form has been central to the gloom. After the defeat to Gujarat, the side\u2014aside from a rain-affected match earlier in the month that was abandoned\u2014has now lost every completed game in IPL 2026 so far. In that context, Rahane\u2019s latest failure only deepened the sense that the team is running out of answers, with a sixth defeat seemingly hovering just out of reach.<\/p>\n<h2>What the numbers say about Rahane\u2019s IPL 2026<\/h2>\n<p>Rahane has struggled to make meaningful contributions consistently, with his overall batting output raising serious questions about whether he can anchor KKR\u2019s top order in a format that has continued to evolve at speed.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Across seven innings, Rahane has made 152 runs.<\/li>\n<li>His batting average stands at 30.40.<\/li>\n<li>His strike rate is 147.57.<\/li>\n<li>The season includes two ducks.<\/li>\n<li>He has also recorded two other single-digit scores.<\/li>\n<li>Only one score of fifty-plus has come so far, arriving at the very start of the campaign.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Even his boundary output hints at inconsistency rather than sustained dominance: he has struck nine sixes and eight fours, a tally that reflects moments of impact but not the kind of regular scoring KKR will need to escape the bottom of the table.<\/p>\n<h2>Decision-making and leadership questions for KKR<\/h2>\n<p>While Rahane is under the spotlight, the wider concern is how the squad and leadership structure were shaped ahead of IPL 2026. The current predicament, in many ways, is tied to choices made at the auction table in late 2024, when KKR moved on from Shreyas Iyer\u2014who had captained the franchise to a title triumph after a decade-long wait\u2014without putting a clear leadership successor plan in place.<\/p>\n<p>The appointment of Rahane as captain also appeared more reactive than planned. Venkatesh Iyer was brought in as deputy, but once that partnership failed to deliver, KKR also parted ways with another Iyer. With the season now progressing, those early course corrections have only intensified the pressure on the franchise, and the doubts have grown both about Rahane\u2019s spot in the playing XI and his ability to steer the team effectively.<\/p>\n<h2>Possible options: who could lead or replace in the XI?<\/h2>\n<p>With KKR\u2019s options narrowing, attention has turned to alternatives\u2014both for captaincy and for the top-order batting balance.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rinku Singh, the vice-captain, is an available leadership candidate, though he too has been struggling with poor form.<\/li>\n<li>In terms of international leadership experience within the current squad, Rovman Powell of the West Indies stands out as the only player with that background.<\/li>\n<li>There is also an unconventional consideration: Sunil Narine, a suggestion that has even received support from former BCCI selector Kris Srikkanth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Support for Narine\u2019s candidacy is rooted in franchise leadership already demonstrated in other leagues: he has captained 30 T20 matches for the Knight Riders franchises in the ILT20 and MLC over the past two seasons.<\/p>\n<p>Batting order reshuffles may also be necessary, but KKR\u2019s challenge is sharper in one area: the side currently lacks a dependable Indian top-order replacement. For now, the franchise appears stuck with limited pathways out of the crisis, forced to hope for a dramatic turnaround\u2014despite a season that has delivered very little comfort so far.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ajinkya Rahane\u2019s struggles have turned into a full-blown headache for Kolkata Knight Riders, with the franchise rooted at the foot of the IPL 2026 points&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Rahane Duck Worries for KKR Captaincy | IPL 2026","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Rahane\u2019s back-to-back ducks at Eden Gardens raise fresh questions over KKR\u2019s leadership as IPL 2026 points pressure mounts.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Rahane Duck Worries for KKR Captaincy | IPL 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rahane\u2019s back-to-back ducks at Eden Gardens raise fresh questions over KKR\u2019s leadership as IPL 2026 points pressure mounts.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rahane Duck Worries for KKR Captaincy | IPL 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rahane\u2019s back-to-back ducks at Eden Gardens raise fresh questions over KKR\u2019s leadership as IPL 2026 points pressure mounts.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"1Win India\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-19T13:53:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ajinkya-rahane-crisis-deepens-after-9e89.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"538\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"296\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Arjun Patel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Arjun Patel\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Arjun Patel\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\"},\"headline\":\"Rahane\u2019s second straight duck sparks KKR captaincy concerns at Eden Gardens\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-19T13:53:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens\"},\"wordCount\":646,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/ajinkya-rahane-crisis-deepens-after-9e89.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"IPL\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens\",\"name\":\"Rahane Duck Worries for KKR Captaincy | IPL 2026\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/ajinkya-rahane-crisis-deepens-after-9e89.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-19T13:53:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\"},\"description\":\"Rahane\u2019s back-to-back ducks at Eden Gardens raise fresh questions over KKR\u2019s leadership as IPL 2026 points pressure mounts.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/ajinkya-rahane-crisis-deepens-after-9e89.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/ajinkya-rahane-crisis-deepens-after-9e89.webp\",\"width\":538,\"height\":296},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Rahane\u2019s second straight duck sparks KKR captaincy concerns at Eden Gardens\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/\",\"name\":\"1Win India\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\",\"name\":\"Arjun Patel\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Arjun Patel\"},\"description\":\"Cricket analyst and sports writer with over 10 years of experience covering international and domestic matches. Specializes in match predictions, player performance analysis, and data-driven insights, with a strong focus on the Indian Premier League\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/author\\\/arjunpatel\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Rahane Duck Worries for KKR Captaincy | IPL 2026","description":"Rahane\u2019s back-to-back ducks at Eden Gardens raise fresh questions over KKR\u2019s leadership as IPL 2026 points pressure mounts.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rahane Duck Worries for KKR Captaincy | IPL 2026","og_description":"Rahane\u2019s back-to-back ducks at Eden Gardens raise fresh questions over KKR\u2019s leadership as IPL 2026 points pressure mounts.","og_url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens","og_site_name":"1Win India","article_published_time":"2026-04-19T13:53:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":538,"height":296,"url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ajinkya-rahane-crisis-deepens-after-9e89.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Arjun Patel","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Arjun Patel","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens"},"author":{"name":"Arjun Patel","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e"},"headline":"Rahane\u2019s second straight duck sparks KKR captaincy concerns at Eden Gardens","datePublished":"2026-04-19T13:53:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens"},"wordCount":646,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ajinkya-rahane-crisis-deepens-after-9e89.webp","articleSection":["IPL"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens","name":"Rahane Duck Worries for KKR Captaincy | IPL 2026","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ajinkya-rahane-crisis-deepens-after-9e89.webp","datePublished":"2026-04-19T13:53:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e"},"description":"Rahane\u2019s back-to-back ducks at Eden Gardens raise fresh questions over KKR\u2019s leadership as IPL 2026 points pressure mounts.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ajinkya-rahane-crisis-deepens-after-9e89.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ajinkya-rahane-crisis-deepens-after-9e89.webp","width":538,"height":296},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/rahanes-second-straight-duck-sparks-kkr-captaincy-concerns-at-eden-gardens#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rahane\u2019s second straight duck sparks KKR captaincy concerns at Eden Gardens"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#website","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/","name":"1Win India","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e","name":"Arjun Patel","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Arjun Patel"},"description":"Cricket analyst and sports writer with over 10 years of experience covering international and domestic matches. Specializes in match predictions, player performance analysis, and data-driven insights, with a strong focus on the Indian Premier League","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/author\/arjunpatel"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}