India, April 26 -- Kolkata Knight Riders announced Ajinkya Rahane as their captain after almost all the other IPL franchises had confirmed their leader. Rahane had a very good domestic season, leading Mumbai to the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 title as the highest run-scorer, but appointing a 36-year-old, whose last T20I was nine years ago, as captain of the team that won the IPL last year was never going to be straightforward.

It didn't look like Rahane was KKR's first choice as captain. He was, after all, picked up in the accelerated auction at his base price of Rs.1.50 crore after going unsold initially. When they released Shreyas Iyer, the three-time IPL champions became the first franchise to let go of their IPL-winning captain.

When they ...