Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane said underwhelming batting performances by key players like Rinku Singh and Andre Russell, was the main reason for the defending champions' disappointing eighth-place finish this IPL season.
Rahane said while the bowling unit largely met expectations, the failure of three-four main batters derailed their campaign. KKR's season ended with a crushing 110-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad here on Monday.
"It's just that for us as a team, three-four guys were out of form. Where we faltered was at the batting end. As a batting unit, collectively, we couldn't do well," Rahane said during the post-match media interaction.
"Unfortunately, two-three players were going through that phase for us. And that was the reason we couldn't do well...But again, they are pretty much experienced enough to handle this situation.
"I'm sure they will come back stronger next year...Rinku (Singh), Raman (Ramandeep Singh), all the players, they will learn from the mistakes and come back stronger." Venkatesh Iyer (average 20.28), Andre Russell (18.55), Rinku (29.42), and Ramandeep (9.40), who played key roles in KKR's 2024 title triumph, failed to replicate their form this season, hurting the team's prospects.
On Sunday, Sunrisers Hyderabad piled a massive 278/3 -- the third-highest total in IPL history -- on the back of Heinrich Klaasen's 37-ball century, before bowling out KKR for 168.
However, earlier setbacks such as the loss to Punjab Kings, while chasing just 112, and a narrow four-run defeat to Lucknow Super Giants while chasing 239, proved more damaging for KKR's campaign.
They also had two rain-marred games and ultimately ended up with five wins from 14 matches.
"See, this season, I think for us, (it has been) kind of an up and down. We had our moments. We had our chances and I said that earlier also during those matches, as a unit, we didn't play well, really well," Rahane said.
"But again, this format, that's how it goes, you know...the Punjab Kings game, LSG game and also the CSK game, I thought those two-three games could have been slightly different.
"It's not easy when you win a championship and, you know, come into the next season, defending the championship, it's not that easy. As a team, we tried our best. What I can say is, we'll come back really stronger next year." Rahane said the pressure of expectations may have affected the batters' performance.
"When you have a couple of good seasons, as an individual, you put a lot of expectation on yourself. You put pressure on yourself. And I feel that was the case for most of the batters, to prove, you know, that how good I am. And it is completely natural.
"I'm sure our players, will learn from the mistakes. It's a lot to learn from this season, as a team. Not for any particular individual, but for everyone. So many learnings from this season."
Iyer gets Rahane's support
One of the biggest talking points was KKR's decision to re-sign Venkatesh Iyer using the Right To Match card after releasing him, at a hefty price of Rs 23.75 crore, making him their third-most expensive player.
But Rahane dismissed any suggestions that the price tag may have impacted the player's performance.
"Someone's not going to work doubly harder if he's getting Rs 20 plus crore, or someone's not going to work less harder when he's getting one, two, three crore, whatever it is.
"...your attitude doesn't change on the field. You know, that's what matters. As a player, you only focus on the controllable things. And I felt Venkatesh Iyer was actually focusing on the controllable things," he reasoned.
"I thought his attitude was fantastic. One off season, that can happen to any player. So it's not about the price tag. I don't think he was thinking about his price tag at all. But just one of those seasons that we had to go through."
Praise for the bowlers
Rahane praised the bowling unit for its consistency across the season, highlighting the performances of Harshit Rana, Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, and veteran Sunil Narine.
"The wickets were really good for the batters. But I thought, bowling throughout the season, as a bowling unit, we did really well...all the bowlers who have played, their thinking was really clear," he said.
