So far, Sunil Narine has disappointed as an opener for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2025. In two of his three innings, he scored just single digits. The West Indies all-rounder has not found his rhythm this season and has not been able to repeat the effect of his previous IPL editions. He has been a weight on the top order to date. This season, Narine has scored 44, 0, and 7. He really has not made a good start so far in pair with Quinton de Kock. He enjoyed the successful season of 2024 where he made an impressive theory with Phil Salt at the top. With Narine not performing, all of the additional pressure is now on the other members of the batting unit. While the KKR squad has a lot of batting talent, they should seriously start considering dropping Narine down the order-at least for now. There can be no other perfect replacement for an opener than captain Ajinkya Rahane. The experienced player has been in good touch, scoring 56, 18, 11, and 38 in four matches during IPL 2025. Besides, Rahane had a great SMAT 2024 season, scoring 469 runs in 9 matches, with five half-centuries at an average of 58.62-opening for Mumbai. Also Read | 'I could not digest': Mohammed Siraj on Champions Trophy snub Ajinkya Rahane's IPL Batting Stats Matches Runs High Score Average Strike Rate 189 4765 105* 30.15 124.05 In SMAT, Rahane has been consistent, with scores of 37, 98, 84, 95, 22, DNB, 68, 52 & 13. His strong performances have further continued in several tournaments, including the Vijay Hazare and Ranji Trophy. Given his form, it would be wise for KKR to slot him in as an opener and capitalize on his success in SMAT for IPL 2025.