Shreyas Iyer will not be part of the KKR for the 2025 IPL |courtesy-BCCI/IPL
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Shreyas Iyer achieved a unique feat
- Shreyas will be part of the IPL mega auction
- KKR have retained six players
Among the biggest surprises from the retention announcements of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction came from defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) camp, as title-winning skipper Shreyas Iyer was not retained and will be part of the mega auction scheduled to take place in the last week of November.
The Knight Riders have retained their full quota of six players, which included club legends Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, who will both earn Rs. 12 crores each. Meanwhile, Varun Chakravarthy will also stay with the franchise for the same amount. Rinku Singh will be their top paid player and will earn Rs. 13 crores in the 2025 season. Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh have been retained for Rs. 4 crores as two uncapped players.
Shreyas Iyer's Unique Record
By not staying with KKR for the 2025 season of the IPL, Shreyas has become the first-ever IPL-winning captain to be released by his franchise in the following season. Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Gautam Gambhir, David Warner, Hardik Pandya all played for their respective franchises in the year after they led the team to the title while MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma still continue to play for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI).
Dhoni was the first-ever IPL-winning captain to not lead his side in the year after winning the title having not captained CSK in the 2024 season after handing over charge to Ruturaj Gaikwad following their 2023 triumph. Similarly, he had stepped down from the role ahead of the 2022 season after leading CSK to the title in 2021 but he returned as skipped mid-way through the season.
It is worth noting that having retained six players, KKR have no Right to Match (RTM) card left which means Shreyas will go in the auction in a fully open market. With a budget of just Rs. 63 crore, it is highly unlikely that the three-time champions will be able to outbid other franchises for a player that is set to generate high demand.
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