IPL 2026: 'Hats off to everyone,' Rahane on KKR's comeback season

Despite a 40-run loss to Delhi Capitals and finishing seventh in IPL 2026, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane praised his team's commendable fightback, highlighting their character and resilience after winning six of their last eight matches.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane expressed pride in the team's fightback in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season after the tough season that they endured, saying, "hats off to each and every one" in the squad.

KKR faced a 40-run loss to Delhi Capitals (DC) in both teams' last group-stage match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season, and ended the season on seventh spot in the points table with 13 points to their name after six wins, seven losses and one no-result game in 14 matches. Notably, KKR abysmally started their IPL 2026 campaign as they faced five defeats in the first six games, with one match ending in a no-result. However, KKR posed a commendable fightback afterwards as they won six out of their next eight matches.

'Proud of the team's fightback'

Speaking after the match, the KKR captain praised the team's remarkable comeback during the tournament, crediting the players for showing courage, character, and resilience throughout the campaign. "It's not easy for everyone. Hardly any players get to experience this kind of comeback. The kind of comeback we did so far, from those 7 games onwards and till now. Hats off to each and every one. As I said, lots of guts, character and resilience from everyone," Rahane said in the post-match press conference.

Rahane said he was proud of the team's fightback after a difficult start to the season and praised the players for staying united and showing strong character and a positive attitude. "Talking about the season, really proud. The way we came back showed that character, that attitude, resilience. The first six games were really tough, but even though I thought we were playing really good cricket, those patches, those moments, we were losing it for six games. It was always about, we decided we will stay together, we will back each other. It was always about the attitude and the character. The game we play, we love this game. You see that character," he said.

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