New Delhi: The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have decided to part ways with their IPL-winning captain Shreyas Iyer. As per the Cricbuzz report, he will not be on KKR’s retention list which will be submitted to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday.
While the option to retain him by using the Right to Match (RTM) card remains on the table but that is for the time of auction. Iyer led KKR to their third IPL title last year and the franchise also prefer Indian players as the captain but many reports are suggesting that he has been approached by a couple of franchises.
The report also stated that Iyer demanded excessively high fees for the upcoming season. He was bought by KKR for INR 12.25 crore in the IPL 2022 auction. He scored 401 runs in 14 matches at an average of 39. He missed the 2023 season due to a back injury. Overall Iyer has played 115 matches in 9 seasons and has scored 3127 runs at a strike rate of 32.24 and strike rate of 127.48.
Iyer is currently out of the Indian team and also without a central, having fallen out of favour with the national selectors after missing a Ranji Trophy game last season.
KKR likely to retain Russell, Narine, Chakaravarthy and two other Indian players
As per an IANS report, KKR could retain all-rounder Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Rinku Singh and Harshit Rana. Harshit received India call-up across all formats but is yet to make his debut for the national side and can be retained as an uncapped player. He took 19 wickets and helped KKR to win their third league title.
Russell and Narine have been a crucial part of KKR’s setup and are all set to be retained by the franchise along with spinner Varan Chakaravarthy. Rinku Singh didn’t have a great season with the bat in 2024, but the youngster has been with the franchise since 2018 and he will also be retained.
