The KKR CEO has now shed light on the bold decision.
Reigning Indian Premier League (IPL) winner Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made an audacious decision of not retaining their championship-winning skipper Shreyas Iyer ahead of the IPL 2025 retention deadline.
Now, shedding light on the decision and the call to exclude Shreyas from the retention list, KKR CEO Venky Mysore indirectly hinted at the person behind the move.
Speaking to Revsportz, Mysore said, “It’s a matter of mutually agreeing. It’s not a one-sided right that a franchise has, the player also have to consider various factors and agree. Somewhere along the line, that agreement doesn’t happen due to various factors – money or somebody want to test their value. That influences the decision finally but he (Shreyas) was No.1 on our list.”
Iyer is now expected to be a hot commodity in the IPL 2025 auction with a number of franchises on the lookout for an Indian player who can take over captaincy responsibilities.
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KKR used up all their six retention spots but there was apparently no space for Iyer. The Shahrukh co-owned franchise made young Indian talent Rinku Singh their top retention at INR 13 crore. It was followed by the Caribbean duo of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, along with Varun Chakravarthy, who were all retained for INR 12 crore. They also stuck with two uncapped talents in Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh for INR 4 crore each.
With these six retained players, KKR has already spent INR 69 crore from their budget, leaving them with a remaining purse of INR 51 crore for the auction. As the auction approaches, KKR is likely to focus on strengthening this strong core by bringing in specialized bowlers and batters to address any gaps in their lineup.
Given that the management retained the core of the title-winning squad, KKR fans can look forward to a thrilling next season as the franchise aims to defend its trophy.
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