KKR Captain 2024: Shreyas Iyer or Nitish Rana - Who Will Lead Kolkata Knight Riders In IPL 2024?

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Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday (December 14) announced the captain and vice captain for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season as former skipper is set to takeover the leadership after missing last season due to injury.

With the return of regular skipper Shreyas Iyer, KKR CEO Venky Mysore has announced that the Indian batter will be KKR captain with the stand-in skipper Nitish Rana, who led the team last season, taking over the role of the vice captain.

In Iyer's absence, Rana had led KKR to six wins in 14 matches, which resulted in a seventh place finish, the same position the regular captain had led the team to in IPL 2022 with the same number of wins.

Iyer had missed fair bit of cricket earlier this year and made an incredible return during the ODI World Cup. Iyer was forced out of action due to a back problem, which later needed to surgery.

Following his return to action, it was inevitable that he would don the captain's role after KKR had spalshed the cash in 2022 mega auction for him to lead the side. Mysore said that the franchise is delighted to have Iyer back and thanked Rana for stepping in last season.

"It was indeed unfortunate that Shreyas missed IPL 2023 due to injury. We are delighted that he's back and at the helm as Captain. The way he has worked hard to recover from his injury and the form he has displayed is a testament to his character," Mysore said in a statement released by KKR.

"We are also grateful that Nitish had agreed to step into Shreyas's shoes last season and did a great job. There's no doubt Nitish as Vice Captain will support Shreyas in every possible way for the benefit of #TeamKKR"

Meanwhile, Iyer praised Rana's leadership skills and thanked the middle-order batter for doing a great job in his absence. Iyer was also delighted with Rana being named the vice captain.

"I believe the last season presented us with several challenges, including my absence due to injury. Nitish did a great job not only filling in for me but also with his commendable leadership. I am delighted that KKR has named him Vice Captain. No doubt it will strengthen the leadership group," Iyer said.

KKR, who head into Tuesday's Auction with lot of job to do, had ealier announced the return of the double title-winning captain Gautam Gambhir in a mentor's role for the upcoming IPL 2024 season.