The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), three-time IPL champions, head into the 2026 season with renewed ambition under captain Ajinkya Rahane and head coach Abhishek Nayar.
Playing their home games at the iconic Eden Gardens, KKR retained a solid core ahead of the December 2025 mini-auction in Abu Dhabi, focusing on balance after key departures like Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer.

Retained stars include explosive all-rounder Sunil Narine, finisher Rinku Singh, mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy, young pacer Harshit Rana, and talents like Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Rovman Powell, Umran Malik, and Vaibhav Arora.
In the auction, KKR spent aggressively with their large purse (₹64.3 crore allocated), securing 13 players for about ₹63.85 crore and leaving minimal balance. Key buys emphasized firepower and depth: Australian all-rounder Cameron Green became the most expensive overseas player in IPL history at ₹25.20 crore, adding batting muscle and seam bowling. Sri Lankan death specialist Matheesha Pathirana joined for ₹18 crore.
Other notable additions include New Zealand opener Finn Allen (₹2 crore), New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra (₹2 crore), uncapped Indian batter Tejasvi Singh (₹3 crore), Akash Deep (₹1 crore), and support players like Rahul Tripathi (₹75 lakh).These signings replaced lost experience with global talent in all-rounders, pace, and top-order options, blending youth and proven performers.
KKR's IPL 2026 campaign opens on March 29 against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (7:30 PM IST), in a high-stakes clash against old rivals. The season starts March 28, with KKR hosting Sunrisers Hyderabad (April 2), Punjab Kings (April 6), and Lucknow Super Giants (April 9) at Eden Gardens early on.
The Kolkata Knight Riders have announced that the Tickets for the KKR home matches at the Eden Gardens are now up for grabs for the fans. The tickets are available on the Book My Show App and Website and the fans can buy them online.
The lowest prices for the ticket in Rs 1200, while the tickets have been divided in 9 categories.
Rs 1200 - C1, K1, H1, G1 Block
Rs 1500 - L1, B1, J, H, F1, E, D Block
Rs 2000 - C, F, G, K Block
Rs 3000 - Club House Upper Tier
Rs 3300 - L Block
Rs 3500 - B Block
Rs 5000 - Premium L Block
Rs 8000 - Club House Lower Tier
Rs 8500 - B Block Premium