Former India opener Virender Sehwag didn’t hold back in his assessment of Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) disappointing IPL 2025 campaign. Sehwag pointed out that one of the critical flaws in KKR’s approach was the insistence on the captain batting higher up the order, rather than allowing the in-form power hitters to take charge, especially during the powerplay.
Drawing parallels with other franchises, he highlighted how teams like Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) adapted their batting orders based on player form and match situations.
“It’s not written in any rulebook that the captain has to bat in the top three,” Virender Sehwag remarked on Cricbuzz. “Look at Rishabh Pant—he let others bat ahead of him if they were striking well. LSG capitalised on that flexibility. KKR, on the other hand, missed that trick, and that’s down to the coaching staff and management.”
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Virender Sehwag further emphasised that CSK made similar tactical decisions, citing the promotion of Shivam Dube and Dewald Brevis in recent matches. “They read the game well and made changes where needed. KKR could’ve done the same to give themselves a better shot,” he added.
‘#KKR ने Salt-Starc की जगह Venkatesh को चुनकर की चूक’
🗣 @TiwaryManoj और @VirenderSehwag, Cricbuzz Live हिन्दी पर #IPL2025 #SRHvsKKR pic.twitter.com/UzLCylHEoI
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) May 26, 2025
KKR’s struggles were magnified following the mega auction, where they lost key batters like Phil Salt and Shreyas Iyer. The team finished eighth in the standings with just 12 points and a negative net run rate of -0.3.
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Meanwhile, Sunrisers Hyderabad signed off their campaign in dominant fashion, thrashing KKR by 110 runs. Much like their explosive start to the season, SRH’s batting fired once again. Defending a massive total, their bowlers executed to perfection—Jaydev Unadkat’s early breakthroughs (2/23), Harsh Dubey’s effective spin (3/34), and Eshan Malinga’s late strikes (3/31) all stood out.
While SRH showed flashes of brilliance, captain Pat Cummins will rue the inconsistency that crept in during the middle phase. KKR’s campaign ends with just five wins from 14 games, and plenty of questions ahead of next season.
