India, July 31 -- Ajinkya Rahane's retirement from all forms of cricket has done more than bring the curtain down on one of India's finest Test careers. It has handed Kolkata Knight Riders an unexpected leadership headache just months before the IPL 2027 season.

With Rahane calling time on his career with immediate effect on Thursday, KKR suddenly find themselves without a captain and, perhaps more worryingly, without an obvious successor.

The leadership vacuum has not emerged overnight. In many ways, it has been brewing ever since the franchise parted ways with Shreyas Iyer after their title-winning IPL 2024 campaign.

Rahane was appointed captain ahead of the 2025 season after Shreyas' exit, with Venkatesh Iyer named vice-captain. The...