"Both Calves": KKR Captain Ajinkya Rahane Reveals Extent Of Injury After Limping Off Against MI

Kolkata Knight Riders' captan Ajinkya Rahane was on Sunday forced to leave the field seemingly after suffering cramps in the second half of their Indian Premier League clash against Mumbai Indians. In Rahane's absence, India all-rounder Rinku Singh who was named the vice-captain before the IPL 2026 began, took over the captaincy role. Rahane was down on the field after the completion of the fourth over in MI's chase of 221 and despite receiving some treatment from the team physiotherapist, the 37-year-old could not continue.

After lying down for a few minutes, the KKR skipper was helped by his teammates to get up and for a short while even had his hands on shoulders of two others to get off the field. However, Rahane eventually walked off himself but with a limp.

Rahane clarified after the game that both of his calfs were hurting, along with cramps. He hinted that there was no hamstring injury, dismissing initial fears.

"Feeling okay, just a lot of cramps to my calf and both the calves actually. So hopefully I'll be okay. I mean, just a lot of cramps," Rahane said.

Opening the innings for KKR earlier in the game, Rahane spent more than an hour in the middle building the innings for KKR with a fine knock of 67 off 40 balls, studded with five sixes and three fours. He was dismissed in the 14th over by his Mumbai teammate Shardul Thakur. Rahane completed his half-century in 27 balls, but slowed down after the powerplay.

KKR ultimately got to a score of 220/4 in 20 overs, which was chased down with five balls to spare by MI. Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton's excellent 145-run opening partnership decimated the KKR bowling attack, which was marshalled by vice-captain Rinku Singh in Rahane's absence.

Rahane will be aiming to recover fully in time for KKR's next game, against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Thursday, April 2.

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Topics mentioned in this article

Ajinkya Rahane Kolkata Knight Riders IPL 2026 Cricket