NEW DELHI: Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday started their pre-season preparations with a week-long training camp for domestic players in Mumbai.
The main camp for the defending champions commences from March 12 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
KKR begin their IPL 2025 campaign against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Eden Gardens on March 22 and are yet to name their captain for the upcoming season.
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Former captain Shreyas Iyer, who guided the team to victory in 2024, was earlier released and will now lead Punjab Kings.
The team is considering experienced Ajinkya Rahane, who was bought for Rs 1.5 crore, and Venkatesh Iyer as potential captains.
Venkatesh was re-acquired by KKR for Rs 23.75 crore, making him the third costliest player at the IPL auction.
The Mumbai training camp for KKR runs from February 21-28 with nine domestic players.
The players include Venkatesh, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Vaibhav Arora, and promising talent Angkrish Raghuvanshi.
New additions Mayank Markande and Luvnith Sisodia have also joined the training camp.
“The players who are not currently involved in domestic cricket are available and have joined us for this short pre-season camp. This is a normal routine for us every season,” head coach Chandrakant Pandit said in a release.
“We will also have a camp in Kolkata from March 12 onwards, where we will have the international players available post the ICC Champions Trophy. Our real preparation will start when the whole squad assembles, but this camp will help us get into a rhythm.
“We have our core group intact which gives us confidence, and I am sure that with the players we have brought in (at the Auction), our combinations will be very strong like last season,” Pandit added.
Spin bowling coach Carl Crowe added: “We’ve got lots of nets, lots of match simulation planned for the next few days. So, it’s an opportunity for most of the group to get back together.
“It’s good to see a lot of known guys here, but also a few new faces. It’s important to keep the squad fresh.
“Obviously, we had a very successful year last year, but you got to keep thinking about ways to get forward. Everyone is really excited for the whole tournament.”
The coaching staff also includes bowling coach Bharat Arun, Strength and Conditioning Coach Sagar V, and Head Physio Prasanth Panchada.
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