IPL 2025: KKR Eliminated – Was it justified based on team strength?

The defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have officially been eliminated from IPL 2025 following their clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on May 17. The match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium was completely washed out due to persistent rain. It did not see a single ball being bowled, and both teams were awarded one point each. With this result, KKR stand at 12 points with one match to go and falling short of a playoff spot, becoming the fourth team to be eliminated from this year’s tournament.

This elimination comes as a surprise to many, after considering KKR entered IPL 2025 as one of the favourites. They retained much of their title-winning squad from IPL 2024 and maintained a core that had previously delivered success. However, despite the expectations the team failed to showcase the last season’s brilliance and could not secure a place in the playoffs.

Here, let us take a closer look at KKR’s strengths across departments to understand whether their early exit is justified.

Batters

The three-time champions KKR struggled with their batting throughout IPL 2025 by failing to perform at the level expected of a title-defending team. The batting unit lacked consistency which proved to be one of the key reasons behind their early exit from the tournament. KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi were the only bright spots in the lineup. However, the rest of the batting core, which included Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, and Rinku Singh failed to make a significant impact. Due to the inconsistency, KKR often fell short while chasing big targets or setting competitive totals.

All-rounders

KKR consisted of one of the most experienced all-round departments in IPL 2025, with veterans like Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, and Moeen Ali in the squad. However, they failed to deliver consistent performances throughout the season, which significantly impacted the team’s overall success. Narine was fairly effective with the ball by maintaining tight lines, but his contributions with the bat were not as good as compared to previous seasons. Russell has been known for his explosive finishing and had one standout performance, but struggled to make an impact in the rest of the matches. The underperformance was one of the key reasons the three-time champions were eliminated early and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Also Read: 5 Things that went wrong with defending champions KKR this season

Bowlers

In the bowling department, apart from Varun Chakravarthy no other KKR bowler delivered consistent performances in IPL 2025. The mystery spinner was one of the standouts in an underwhelming campaign for KKR by picking up 17 wickets in 12 matches as of May 17, 2025. But, the rest of the bowling attack struggled to maintain momentum. Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora showed some potential with occasional good spells, but their performances were not consistent. The lack of an overseas pace spearhead further weakened KKR’s bowling unit. The lack of bowling depth and consistency played a significant role in KKR's failure to qualify for the playoffs.