Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were eliminated from IPL 2025 after the rain-out result in their match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Saturday, May 17.
The match was abandoned without even the toss taking place at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. They fetched a point from the game, but the result of the game brought curtains to their forgetful IPL 2025 campaign in many ways. They joined the likes of CSK, RR and SRH as teams to be knocked out of the season.
On the other hand, RCB, with one point from this match, are currently topping the IPL 2025 points table. With two more games remaining, they can even finish as the table toppers if they win both their remaining games. The battle to finish in the top two is still on, with as many as five teams fighting for it.
Meanwhile, the campaign was a forgettable one for the defending champions, the Kolkata Knight Riders. They made a few tactical errors in terms of playing the right combination. They did not use the players to their full potential as well. Not buying back Shreyas Iyer, Phil Salt and Mitchell Starc in the mega auction proved decisive in how their campaign went. In this article, we try and pinpoint three reasons why KKR were eliminated from IPL 2025.
Also Read: IPL 2025 Points Table After RCB vs KKR Got Abandoned Due To Rain
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Openers Not Giving Consistent Starts
KKR once again had problems figuring out the right opening combination. With Phil Salt not being a part of the team, Sunil Narine had different opening partners in different phases of the tournament. Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz both could not make the same impact that Salt had in their campaign-winning season in 2024. Narine, too, was inconsistent with the bat, unlike what he was last year in the company of Salt. KKR's opening woes continued throughout the season with the combination broken.
Releasing Shreyas Iyer, Investing In Venkatesh
KKR spent more than 23 crores to get back Venkatesh Iyer in the IPL 2025. Thus, they did not have the purse to go behind the likes of Phil Salt, Mitchell Starc and Shreyas Iyer. Iyer joined Punjab Kings and the franchise is close to making it to the playoffs. Venky could not repay the faith of the KKR management, having scored just 142 runs in 12 games at an average of less then 25. His strike rate, too, was well below par throughout the campaign.
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Weakened Indian Bowling Attack And Not Using Andre Russell With The Ball
KKR decided to buy back Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora in the mega auction. Both were crucial to KKR's title-winning season in 2024. However, the duo could not repeat last year's heroics in 2025. Though both have been among the wickets this season, both have been way too expensive as well. Arora picked up 16 wickets from 11 games while Rana picked up 15 in as many games. However, it is their economy rate and their overall inexperience which played its part in KKR's derailing campaign.
With KKR's pace attack seemingly inexperienced, Ajinkya Rahane, the KKR skipper, did not use Andre Russell with the ball as much as he should have used him. Russell could have been the third or the fourth seamer for KKR, but to see Rahane not using Russell with the ball surprised many. Russell bowled almost 30 overs in IPL 2024. However, in 2025, in the first 12 games, he has bowled just 16.1 overs and picked up 8 wickets. He picked 19 in IPL 2024.
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