Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) retained as many as six players ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. Still, they had several crucial spots to fill and rightly opted for some quality players during the auction.

However, they were clear with their plans and went hard in their choices, grabbing almost everyone. They were on the losing end of only five offers, but most were quality players and some had represented KKR before.

We look at three players for whom KKR bid unsuccessfully in the IPL 2025 auction.

Phil Salt

KKR lost Phil Salt to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) despite intense bids. The bidding war began between Mumbai Indians (MI) and RCB and lasted up to INR 4.20 crore before the former backed out, allowing KKR to jump on the bandwagon.

The two teams raised their oars until RCB’s offer of Rs 11.50 crore before KKR’s tight budget forced them to give up. Finally, RCB got Phil Salt and KKR was finally the recipient.

Also Read: 5 key players RCB lost in bidding wars with other teams in IPL 2025 auction

Rahul Tripathi

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) wanted a quality number 3 to replace Ajinkya Rahane and got a perfect player in Rahul Tripathi. The battle to get it was only between CSK and KKR, but it was intriguing.

With CSK raising the paddle at INR 75 Lakhs to open the war, KKR immediately joined in and went as far as to offer INR 3.20 crores. However, CSK made the final offer of Rs 3.40 crore and included him in their team.

Mohamed Shami

KKR had released Mitchell Starc and Vaibhav Arora and needed a solid new-ball bowler to add value in other phases. Therefore, they were among the four teams that chased Mohammed Shami during the auction.

KKR was the team in the race to land Shami for INR 9.75 crore before Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) made a final bid of INR 10 crore. KKR had no choice but to back out as their low budget did not allow them to spend such a considerable sum as they had to form a complete team.

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