Kolkata Knight Riders Gear Up for IPL 2026 Opener Against Mumbai Indians
KKR Prepares for IPL 2026 Debut
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), under the leadership of Ajinkya Rahane, have arrived in Mumbai to face the Mumbai Indians (MI) in their opening match of IPL 2026. Just two days prior to this crucial encounter, players from both teams met. Suryakumar Yadav, a member of MI, shared a light-hearted moment with KKR's vice-captain Rinku Singh, delivering a humorous speech.
Recently, KKR announced that Rinku will support Rahane in the upcoming season. Despite fans anticipating a new captain, the franchise chose to continue backing Rahane. Suryakumar, who previously served as KKR's vice-captain under Gautam Gambhir, was all smiles during his interaction with Rinku. After being released by KKR before the IPL 2018 mega-auction, Suryakumar joined MI and has been with them ever since. However, he is not part of MI's leadership group and will play under Hardik Pandya's captaincy.
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Rinku Singh joined KKR for ₹80 lakh during the IPL 2018 mega-auction. After being released before the IPL 2022 mega-auction, he was re-signed for ₹55 lakh. KKR invested a significant ₹13 crore to retain him ahead of the IPL 2025 mega-auction.
As a member of India's T20 World Cup-winning squad in 2026, Rinku played 4 matches in 2018, 5 in 2019, and just 1 in 2020. He remained on the bench during IPL 2021 and participated in only 7 matches in 2022. However, he finally received ample opportunities in IPL 2023, playing 14 matches, which led to his first call-up to the national team in 2023. He was also among the reserves for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Unfortunately, Rinku's performance in the 2026 T20 World Cup was not noteworthy, resulting in his exclusion from the playing XI. To secure his position in the national team, he will need to perform exceptionally well in IPL 2026.
Following their match against MI, KKR will host Sunrisers Hyderabad at Eden Gardens on April 2, and will face Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants on April 6 and 9, respectively, before heading to Chennai to take on Chennai Super Kings on April 14.