The IPL mega auction is set to return after three years in 2025. However, before that the franchises need to retain and release players, and the deadline for that is October 31, as all 10 franchises are set to announce their retention lists for the upcoming season on that day. One of the teams who will have a major problem in retaining just 6 players are defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), as they have one of the most settled and balanced squads in the league. However, it looks like they are going to release a big name ahead of the auction.

According to a report by Cricbuzz, Kolkata Knight Riders are not going to retain their captain Shreyas Iyer as there were no breakthrough in the negotiations between the player and the franchise. The report states that KKR found Iyer to be quite the tough negotiator.

The report also states that Iyer was charging an exorbitant fee for him to be retained, which KKR did not agree upon. There are also reports that KKR might go for him as an option for their Right To Match (RTM) card. However, the decision has not been made concrete as of yet.

The Cricbuzz report also states that Shreyas Iyer has been approached by multiple franchises as he is a great option for an Indian captain for teams. He became just the fourth Indian captain after Gautam Gambhir, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma to win an IPL Trophy, when he achieved the feat with KKR last season. He also was the captain when Delhi Capitals reached the final in IPL 2021.

According to a report by ESPN Cricinfo, Kolkata Knight Riders are likely to retain Sunil Narine, Rinku Singh and Varun Chakravarthy, along with Harshit Rana as the uncapped retention. This means that Andre Russell, who has been with the side since 2014 is also set to be released.

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