Rinku Singh Named KKR Vice-Captain Ahead of IPL 2026

India's rising cricket star Rinku Singh has been named vice-captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the upcoming Indian Premier League 2026. He assumes this new leadership role following Venkatesh Iyer, who was signed by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 7 crore. Singh will serve as deputy to team captain Ajinkya Rahane.

The announcement was made by KKR CEO Venky Mysore during the Knights Unplugged 3.0 event in Kolkata. Highlighting Singh's journey with the franchise, Mysore expressed delight in having Singh step into this position, as he has been a consistent performer since joining KKR in 2018.

Despite Singh's recent form posing a concern, particularly after a lackluster T20 World Cup 2026 and an overall performance dip since his breakthrough IPL 2023 season, KKR remains hopeful. Singh had made headlines with his stellar performances in 2023, but his recent statistics are moderate with 374 runs in 22 innings. The team is set to start their IPL season against the Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium on March 29.