KKR Appoint Rinku Singh as Vice-Captain Ahead of IPL 2026, Future Captain in Making

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is facing some problems before IPL 2026. The team has injury issues, and at the same time, they are planning for the future. During the Knights Unplugged 3.0 event on Tuesday, Rinku Singh was announced as the team’s vice-captain. Right after the IPL 2026 auction, there were many who believed that the UP batter could be made the skipper this year, but that of course, did not happen.

Now, with this decision, it is clear that Kolkata Knight Riders management is planning to make Rinku Singh the future captain. He looks like the right choice, as he has been with the team since 2018 and has played 59 matches for them.

Kolkata Knight Riders name Rinku Singh vice-captain for future leadership

In those, he has gone on to score 1099 runs at an average of 30, and a best of 67. In the team, he is looked as a finisher, but this time around could be batting at no. 4 or no. 5. Earlier, former India batter Mohammad Kaif had advocated for the need of grooming him into KKR captain.

He had said on his Youtube channel, “KKR should groom Rinku Singh as a future captain. Rinku Singh is an all-format player. Although he is not part of the Test team, he can bat well in all formats. I come from UP, and I know what he does for UP. A lot of batters score runs, but his runs come in winning cause. So, that guy is ready and captains UP.

“He has the mental strength to handle captaincy and batting together. They have a ready guy. Now it remains to be seen if they give him the captaincy after Rahane, do it mid-season, or make him the vice-captain. Just get him in the mix, it will be a long-term investment for KKR,” he added.