The KKR CEO has now clarified this bold decision.
Reigning Indian Premier League (IPL) winners Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have taken the bold decision of not retaining their championship-winning captain 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 is a matter of mutual agreement. It is not a unilateral right that a franchise has, the player also has to consider several factors and agree. At some point, that deal doesn’t happen due to several factors: money or someone wanting to prove their worth. “That ultimately influences the decision, but he (Shreyas) was number one on our list.”
Iyer is now expected to be a hot commodity in the IPL 2025 auction with several franchises looking for an Indian player who can shoulder captaincy responsibilities.
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KKR used all their holding points
KKR exhausted all six of their holding points but there was apparently no room for Iyer. Shahrukh’s co-owned franchise made young Indian talent Rinku Singh its top retainer with INR 13 crore. They were followed by the Caribbean duo of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, along with Varun Chakravarthy, who were retained for INR 12 crore. They also bagged two uncapped talents in Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh for INR 4 crore each.
With these six players retained, KKR has already spent INR 69 crore of their budget, leaving them with a remaining purse of INR 51 crore for the auction. As the auction approaches, KKR are likely to focus on strengthening this strong core by bringing in specialist bowlers and batsmen to address any gaps in their lineup.
With the management retaining the core of the title-winning team, KKR fans can look forward to an exciting upcoming season as the franchise aims to defend its trophy.
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