Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have taken a significant step ahead of IPL 2026 by naming Rinku Singh as the team’s vice-captain. The announcement was made during the Knights Unplugged 3.0 event on Tuesday, amid ongoing concerns around injuries within the squad.

Rinku, who has been a part of the franchise since 2018, has grown into a key player for KKR over the years. While there was speculation after the IPL 2026 auction that he could be considered for captaincy, the management has now handed him the role of vice-captain, with Rahane being the captain, hinting at long-term leadership plans.

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The Uttar Pradesh batter has played 59 matches for KKR, scoring 1,099 runs at an average of 30, with a highest score of 67. Known for his finishing abilities, Rinku may take on a more flexible batting role this season, possibly at No. 4 or No. 5.

Venky Mysore, CEO of Kolkata Knight Riders, during the Knights Unplugged 3.0 event in Kolkata shared, “At Kolkata Knight Riders, we are really delighted to announce Rinku Singh as the vice-captain of the team. He joined KKR in 2018 and has been a consistent presence in the squad since then.”

The 28-year-old also brings leadership experience from domestic cricket and previous IPL stints, the franchise added.

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KKR had a tough outing last season, finishing eighth with just five wins from 14 matches in IPL 2025.

KKR squad for IPL 2026

Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), Rinku Singh (Vice-Captain), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Finn Allen (wicket-keeper), Tejasvi Singh (wicket-keeper), Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert (wicket-keeper), Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Cameron Green, Umran Malik, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Sarthak Ranjan, Daksh Kamra, Rachin Ravindra, Ramandeep Singh, Blessing Muzarabani, Vaibhav Arora, Matheesha Pathirana, Kartik Tyagi, Prashant Solanki, Harshit Rana, Saurabh Dubey.