3 batters KKR should retain for IPL 2026 ft. Ajinkya Rahane & Angkrish Raghuvanshi

Kolkata Knight Riders face the least of worries when it comes to their batting unit in IPL 2026. From captain Ajinkya Rahane to the young Angkrish Raghuvanshi, the three-time champions boast of a strong batting line-up and is something they won’t be too bothered about. Ahead of the November 15 deadline for IPL teams to finalize on their retentions, let’s take a look at some of the batters that KKR should retain for IPL 2026.

3 batters KKR should retain for IPL 2026

1. Rinku Singh

Retained for a price of Rs 13 crore, the designated finisher for KKR did not have the best of the seasons in IPL 2025. After establishing himself with a 474-run season in 2023, the UP batter has had back-to-back poor seasons in the IPL. In 2025, he managed to score 206 runs from 13 matches at an average of 29.42. Regardless, he is another sure-shot retention for KKR and their future finisher as well.

2. Ajinkya Rahane

KKR managed to get a steal deal in the form of Rahane after buying him for just Rs 1.5 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction. Not only did they find a new captain in the Mumbai star but also a consistent batter who is a veteran but has reinvented his game in the shortest format. In IPL 2025, Rahane allowed his bat to do the talking, with his fine form in white-ball format continuing. He ammassed 390 runs from 13 matches, averaging 35.45.

3. Angkrish Raghuvanshi

The 21-year-old was easily one of the most impressive batters in KKR in IPL 2025. Providing the team with the much needed push at number 4, Raghuvanshi provided a perfect balance of aggression and stroke play in the middle-order for the team. In the last edition of the tournament, he managed to amass 300 runs from 12 matches, averaging 33.33. Raghuvanshi grew leaps and bounds in the recent edition of the tournament after being sub-par in his debut season in 2024 where he only managed to score 163 runs.