Bravo-Rahane ready to rock IPL 2025, mission to bring title to KKR again!
KKR’s new captain also says that his vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer deserves the price he got during the auction. It was only three months ago when Chandrakant Pandit and Venkatesh Iyer were sitting in the Madhya Pradesh camp planning strategies for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final against Ajinkya Rahane and his Mumbai team. Now as IPL 2025 approaches, all three are part of the same team to help defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders win the title again.
KKR retained six of its key players and re-inducted several old faces in the auction, strengthening the core group of their title-winning team again. But one big drawback is that Gautam Gambhir and his coaching team are no longer with KKR. They are now with the Indian team. However, KKR has chosen Dwayne Bravo to fill this void. This is a name that is known to be called ‘Champion’ itself. But there is a huge difference between Gambhir’s deep thinking and Bravo’s passionate personality, so the big question is whether there will be a change in KKR’s approach?
DJ Bravo, Rahane, Venkatesh, Chandrakant Pandit LIVE Press Conference | #KnightLIVE | TATA IPL 2025 https://t.co/ELaDU4jCJc
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) March 13, 2025
Bravo told the media in Kolkata, “I think it would be an insult to Gambhir if I don’t try to understand the good work that he did last season. The core group of the team is already there. My and the coach’s job was to go to the auction and bring back as many players as possible from the championship-winning team, and we were successful in that.”
“But GG [Gambhir] had his own style and I have my own style. We both have been successful in our own ways. I have messaged him many times, but I will try to learn a lot from the players in the team, because they have already adopted a successful formula.”
One thing that became clear during the press conference on Thursday was that KKR now wants to come out of the shadow of Gambhir’s personality. When Venkatesh was asked about the new mentor, Pandit intervened and said, “Sorry guys. You know the current situation, please don’t go back. Bravo has already answered about this.”It was clear that the franchise does not want to look back now, but wants to move forward with a new approach.
Bravo’s record itself testifies to his ability. He has the most 17 titles to his name in T20 cricket, which is more than any other player. He has five trophies as captain. Only MS Dhoni (9) and Rohit Sharma (8) are ahead of him.
Ajinkya Rahane, who returned to KKR after an unsuccessful stint in 2021, is also impressed with Bravo’s abilities. Rahane said, “It is very exciting to work with him. He is the player who has played the most matches in T20 cricket and understands the game very well. I have always seen him talking to the bowlers on the boundary line. So I am excited to play under his leadership.”
All eyes will also be on Rahane in IPL 2025. At the time of the auction in December 2024, Mumbai and Rahane had played only one Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match. However, very few people expected that he would become the top scorer of the tournament. Initially no team bought him, but KKR finally took him at a base price of Rs 1.5 crore. Now this decision can prove to be a masterstroke. As far as his batting order is concerned, Rahane said that discussions are still going on. At the same time, he also supported Venkatesh, who was bought for a huge amount of Rs 23.75 crore.
Rahane said, “I have always played in the position where the team wanted, and this is my mindset. There are still eight days left for the first match. There will be more talks with the coach and mentor. But whatever the team wants, I will give my best in it.”
“Also I want to tell you all that Venkatesh deserves this price. People are talking about this, but he has performed well for this franchise many times. I think he has earned this price. Please support KKR and do not ask questions about this in the future press conferences”.
However, the discussion of price and pressure associated with it cannot be avoided in IPL. Venkatesh also admitted that there will be pressure, but it is there on every player.
Venkatesh said, “Wherever I go, I am asked the same question, so this question will really remain, right? But when IPL starts, it will not matter.”
“Pressure is always there, whether it is the price tag, selection, batting position, bowling or fielding. There is pressure on everyone. Now it is up to me how I handle it. I cannot ignore it completely, so I will embrace it and fulfill my responsibilities.”
Bravo concluded by saying that he wants to give his best for KKR. Having already been a part of two champion teams in the IPL, Bravo is now joining the three-time winning team. He also mentioned his deep bond with Shah Rukh Khan, who owns his home CPL franchise Trinbago Knight Riders.
“I started with Trinbago Knight Riders in CPL when SRK bought the team. I was the happiest person in the world to know that someone like him was showing interest in cricket, especially in my hometown.”
“I will try to bring the same energy and atmosphere here. This is already a successful team — we have the most trophies after Mumbai and CSK. We have to work on it, and I think we have a chance to achieve it.”
As for the most interesting question of the press conference — “Is Bravo releasing a new song to celebrate his KKR journey?” — he smiled and replied that “the Caribbean version of ‘Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo’ will have to wait a bit.”
