New Delhi: The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 retention deadline is approaching as all the franchises prepare their list of retained and released players and will be announcing it on October 31. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), champions of IPL 2024, are also mulling over their retentions and releases. But gloomy news is around the corner for the KKR fans as it is less likely that they will be seeing their skipper Shreyas Iyer back in action for them.
According to an IANS report, the retention status of Shreyas Iyer for KKR is hanging in balance as other players like West Indies duo of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, middle-order batter Rinku Singh, wrist-spinner Varun Chakravarthy and uncapped fast-bowler Harshit Rana, who got a maiden Test call-up for the upcoming Boder-Gavaskar Trophy, are ahead in contention of being retained by the Kolkata based franchise.
During the IPL 2024, Narine and Russell were at their all-round best for KKR, being two of the long-attached players. Chakravarthy played a pivotal role in the spin department as he bagged 21 wickets at an economy rate of 8.04. These outings of him paved the path for being back into the Indian team for the T20Is against Bangladesh earlier this month and is also selected for the South Africa T20Is scheduled next month.
Rinku, who mostly came to bat as a finisher, could make just 168 runs in 14 games this year. He has been with the team since 2018 and has been credited as the find of the franchise as he found his batting tactic. Meanwhile, Rana, who has been with the franchise since 2022, had a breakthrough season this year, picking 19 wickets.
Iyer’s prospect of IPL 2025 auction
Shreyas Iyer scored 351 runs in 14 innings for KKR, at a strike rate of 146.86 while leading KKR to their third title triumph in May this year. The Mumbai batter has been with the team since 2022, although he missed the 2023 edition due to an injury to his lower back. If in any case Iyer is released and he enters the mega auction pool, then franchises who are looking for a skipper will have a chance of roping him in and offering him the captaincy role.
KKR were expected to have this problem of plenty as they currently boast too many match-winners in the squad. The likes of Mitchell Starc, Phil Salt, Venkatesh Iyer, and Ramandeep Singh, also featured for the franchise. As per the new rules of retention, each team can retain a maximum of five capped players and a maximum of two uncapped players.
