The defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have formally been eradicated from IPL 2025 following their conflict towards Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Could 17. The match on the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium was utterly washed out attributable to persistent rain. It didn’t see a single ball being bowled, and each groups have been awarded one level every. With this consequence, KKR stand at 12 factors with one match to go and falling in need of a playoff spot, turning into the fourth crew to be eradicated from this 12 months’s event.
This elimination comes as a shock to many, after contemplating KKR entered IPL 2025 as one of many favourites. They retained a lot of their title-winning squad from IPL 2024 and maintained a core that had beforehand delivered success. Nevertheless, regardless of the expectations the crew didn’t showcase the final season’s brilliance and couldn’t safe a spot within the playoffs.
Right here, allow us to take a more in-depth have a look at KKR’s strengths throughout departments to grasp whether or not their early exit is justified.
Batters
The three-time champions KKR struggled with their batting all through IPL 2025 by failing to carry out on the degree anticipated of a title-defending crew. The batting unit lacked consistency which proved to be one of many key causes behind their early exit from the event. KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi have been the one shiny spots within the lineup. Nevertheless, the remainder of the batting core, which included Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, and Rinku Singh didn’t make a major influence. Because of the inconsistency, KKR typically fell quick whereas chasing huge targets or setting aggressive totals.
All-rounders

KKR consisted of one of the crucial skilled all-round departments in IPL 2025, with veterans like Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, and Moeen Ali within the squad. Nevertheless, they didn’t ship constant performances all through the season, which considerably impacted the crew’s total success. Narine was pretty efficient with the ball by sustaining tight strains, however his contributions with the bat have been not so good as in comparison with earlier seasons. Russell has been recognized for his explosive ending and had one standout efficiency, however struggled to make an influence in the remainder of the matches. The underperformance was one of many key causes the three-time champions have been eradicated early and didn’t qualify for the playoffs.
Additionally Learn: 5 Issues that went improper with defending champions KKR this season
Bowlers

Within the bowling division, other than Varun Chakravarthy no different KKR bowler delivered constant performances in IPL 2025. The thriller spinner was one of many standouts in an underwhelming marketing campaign for KKR by selecting up 17 wickets in 12 matches as of Could 17, 2025. However, the remainder of the bowling assault struggled to take care of momentum. Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora confirmed some potential with occasional good spells, however their performances weren’t constant. The shortage of an abroad tempo spearhead additional weakened KKR’s bowling unit. The shortage of bowling depth and consistency performed a major function in KKR’s failure to qualify for the playoffs.
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