Ajinkya Rahane in action for KKR [Source: AFP]The Kolkata Knight Riders suffered their second consecutive defeat of the IPL 2026 at the hands of the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday night, falling short by a huge margin on 65 runs at home. With the losses came criticism over Ajinkya Rahane’s leadership and his position in the team. The player was among their late picks in the IPL 2025 auction, getting only one bid in the accelerated auction, but was handed the captaincy. Since he took over the team, they have only won 5 of their 15 matches, including the one against SRH, where he failed to get going and scored only 8 off 10, without any boundaries to his name. Upon being questioned on his approach, the captain lost his calm in the presser and claimed to be among the fastest scoring batters since IPL 2023, terming it a bad outing. Below is a brief debunking of Ajinkya Rahane’s IPL record since IPL 2023. Does Ajinkya Rahane have one of the best IPL strike rates since 2023? During the post-match press conference, as the media questioned Rahane’s approach, he hit back and claimed that people carry an agenda against him. “I think I have one of the best strike rates so far from 2023. People who are talking about me probably not watching the game or have a certain agenda against me — they don’t like me playing. They don’t like to watch me play,” he said. Among the batters who have batted in at least 25 innings since IPL 2023, Ajinkya Rahane has scored 1033 runs in 37 innings, striking at 147.78 with six fifties to his name. Among the run scorers, he ranks 21st in the list. However, with the same filter of 25 innings, Rahane’s strike rate of 147.78 is 38th in the IPL. Currently, Abhishek Sharma, Nicholas Pooran, Travis Head and Phil Salt are the only players striking at above 175 since IPL 2025, with a minimum of 25 innings batted. Hence, his statements are contradicting his stats.Also Read: Watch- Comedy Of Errors Sees Cameron Green Run Out After Bizarre Mix-Up With RaghuvanshiAjinkya Rahane’s form instrumental for KKR in IPL 2026 As the captain of the side, Ajinkya Rahane is expected to be a sure-shot starter for the rest of the tournament.With Rahane present in the XI, he is guaranteed to play in the top-3, and as he is being used as the opener, Sunil Narine, who has scored high-impact runs at 173.13 since IPL 2023, is batting with the tail against a soft ball and no field restrictions, which impacts his scoring. Hence, as a starter and opener, Rahane’s form will remain key to KKR’s success in IPL 2026. If he fails to replicate his batting exploits against MI, where he got 67 off 40, it will be a worry for KKR’s management, and some tactical tweaks could be made. KKR eyes to bounce back against PBKS Following the back-to-back losses in the first week of the IPL 2026, KKR will now host the Punjab Kings on Monday, April 6. The last time these two teams met in IPL 2025, the match was washed out. However, KKR also dramatically failed to chase 112 runs in the away fixture at Mullanpur in the same season. With a chip on Rahane’s shoulder after two losses, KKR will try to bounce back against a power-packed PBKS line-up and put the first points on the board on Monday. Also Read: Massive Update On Josh Hazlewood's Return Ahead Of RCB vs CSK Match
