Ajinkya Rahane makes one change in KKR playing XI, plays one extra spinner vs SRH

IPL 2025, KKR vs SRH: Ajinkya Rahane left out pacer Spencer Johnson for an extra spinner in the playing XI.

So, the cat is out if the bag, and Ajinkya Rahane‘s KKR has fielded only one change in their playing XI vs SRH; Spin all-rounder Moeen Ali comes in for Spencer Johnson. That kind of means, it would finally be a spinning wicket at the Eden Gardens, after a major controversy — where KKR skipper and the Eden curator were involved in a war of words.

Ajinkya Rahane Brings in Moeen Ali

At the toss he said, “Looks good, I’m really happy with the pitch, we were also bowling first. It will suit our spinners, at home, you should get what you want, but we’ll need to assess the situation quickly with the bat. We sat together, discussed how we can get better, but this is a long tournament and it was one bad day. Moeen Ali comes in place of Spencer Johnson. Regardless of all plans, we’ll have to come out and do well in the middle.”

Assistance for Varun Chakravarthy & Sunil Narine?

Meanwhile, it could be a wicket to bowl on, especially for the likes of Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine. After the first match on this surface, Rahane had asked for a wicket that aided the home team. And it seems, the Eden Gardens curator finally relented after much back and forth.

KKR & SRH Playing XIs

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ramandeep Singh.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Aniket Verma, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Kamindu Mendis, Simarjeet Singh, Pat Cummins(c), Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami, Zeeshan Ansari.