IPL 2025: Five Domestic Players Who Can Make A Difference For Kolkata Knight Riders

The Kolkata Knight Riders were without a doubt one of the most dominant teams last season and deservingly won their third IPL title. However, as they enter the 2025 season with a smaller and much revamped squad and without a leader at the helm, can they maintain their dominance or will it all unravel before over eyes this season? 

In this article, we take a look at the five domestic players who can make a difference for the Kolkata Knight Riders this coming season. 

Ramandeep Singh

An all-rounder who can bowl a bit of medium pace and produce explosive batting cameos lower down the order, Ramandeep Singh’s stock has skyrocketed in the last 12 months, so far so that the 27-year-old earned himself an international call-up during India’s T20I series against South Africa in November last year. 

With the Kolkata Knight Riders heading into the 2025 season with just 20 players, there’s a visible lack of depth in their squad. Although the management team were able to keep most of their star players, the likes of Ramandeep Singh will have a crucial role to play throughout the 2025 season. 

Harshit Rana

One of the most promising and standout players in KKR’s title-winning run last season, the young 23-year-old seamer will arguably be the lead pacer for the Knight Riders this season. His exceptional skillset, coupled with a deep understanding of gamestate meant the 23-year-old led the attack for the majority of the last season despite having someone like Mitchell Starc as his bowling partner. 

His 19 wickets in just 11 games that too bowling in the batting-friendly wickets of the Eden Gardens with an economy of 9.08 is exceptional considering teams were regularly posting 200+ totals last season. With a weakened bowling line-up and a lack of adequate replacements, a lot will be asked of the 23-year-old quickster this coming season. 

Angkrish Raghuvanshi

The young 19-year-old set the stage alight with a blistering half-century in his IPL debut last season. Although Raghuvanshi failed to capitalise on his good start, the little opportunities he got was more than enough to give us a glimpse of what he can produce at the biggest of stages. 

In the lead up to this season’s edition, Raghuvanshi hasn’t been at his fluent best, however, he has shown great promise and impressive shot-making throughout both SMAT and VHT. There is a lack of depth in the KKR batting line-up, thus it’ll be important for the management team to get their young 19-year-old batter ready and in form for a grueling 2025 season. 

Vaibhav Arora

Having made his IPL debut in 2022 for the Punjab Kings, the 27-year-old right arm seamer from Ambala has been on a steady upward trajectory. Vaibhav Arora joined the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2023, however, it was last season where he truly showed what he’s capable of. He’s a hit-the-deck-hard type of bowler who can be effective both during the PowerPlay overs and the death overs. Besides, the 27-year-old also has a knack of picking up crucial wickets, like Abhishek Sharma’s dismissal in Qualifier 1 and getting Travis Head’s wicket in the final for a duck. 

Alongside Harshit Rana, Arora will play a crucial role for KKR this season, the Amabala-born cricketer took five wickets in SMAT, going at just 7 runs per over. He carried his form into the Vijay Hazare Trophy where he bagged 13 wickets in just six innings and was among the highest wicket takers in the tournament. 

Ajinkya Rahane

Since his move to the Chennai Super Kings, Ajinkya Rahane has redefined his T20 batting. During CSK’s title-winning run in 2023, Rahane scored 326 runs in 11 innings at a strike-rate of 172.5, however, last season, the 36-year-old batter struggled for form, scoring just 242 runs in 12 innings at a strike-rate of 123.5. Resulting in CSK letting him go without any bids or retention. 

With the Kolkata Knight Riders still undecided on who’s going to be leading them this season, their INR 1.5 crore purchase of the Ajinkya Rahane – who has captained different teams and franchises across formats – could prove to be a masterstroke especially considering the form he’s in. In the recently concluded SMAT, Rahane ended the tournament as the highest run-getter, scoring 469 runs in just eight innings at a strike-rate of 164.6. Thus, it’ll be interesting to see whether the KKR hierarchy hand over the reins to the former India Test captain.