The franchise's decision can create a bidding war in the IPL 2025 auction.
In a recent development coming in, an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise is set to take an intriguing call of not making their Indian captain a priority pick but rather a foreign cricketer ahead of the retention deadline.
Last season’s (IPL 2024) winners Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) face a difficult decision before October 31 (last date for all IPL teams to submit their list of retentions).
According to a TOI report, it has been understood that KKR is contemplating making an overseas star their priority pick over skipper Shreyas Iyer.
The three-time IPL winners want to make West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell their top retention while also keeping Shreyas Iyer on the roster, although his captaincy role remains in doubt for the upcoming season. The 36-year-old Russell was earlier retained for INR 12 crore by KKR and is very likely to get a substantial raise.
On the other hand, in case Shreyas isn’t satisfied with KKR’s terms, his entry into the auction can set a bidding war with multiple franchises like Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Delhi Capitals (DC) in dire need of a captain.
The IPL 2024 winners face the daunting task of shortlisting only a few players from a championship-winning squad ahead of the retention deadline.
There are several appealing retention choices for KKR, including the likes of Rinku Singh, uncapped player Harshit Rana, Mitchell Starc, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. However, it remains to be seen how much the reigning champions are prepared to invest.
Co-owned by Shah Rukh Khan, KKR has been one of the franchises advocating for a smaller auction and promoting the use of the Right to Match (RTM) option and are likely to implement the strategy in the upcoming IPL 2025 auction.
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While KKR have a problem of plenty, it’s their captaincy decision that will be closely watched by the other rival franchises.
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