Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are interested to retain skipper Shreyas Iyer but not as the top retention. The Mumbai batter, who joined KKR in 2022, led the side to their third IPL title earlier this year. Ahead of the October 31 deadline for teams to submit their retention list ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction, a report has made a bold claim over KKR’s choices on retention.
Not Shreyas Iyer, KKR want Russell as top retention ahead of IPL 2025
A Times of India report has claimed that KKR wants Andre Russell to be their top retention. The Caribbean powerhouse was retained in the previous auction as well for Rs 12 crore. The report adds that while KKR is keen on retaining Shreyas Iyer, he will not be the top retention choice.
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Shreyas Iyer took over from Nitish Rana as KKR’s skipper before IPL 2024. In his very first season for the franchise, he amassed 401 runs in IPL 2022 before missing the the next season entirely. He made his comeback in 2024, scoring 351 runs in what was a victorious campaign for the franchise.
Who else will KKR retain ahead of IPL 2025?
If given a chance, Kolkata Knight Riders would retain the same team that lifted the IPL trophy in May. Sadly, rules are rules and thus the team will be forced to hit the restart button after retaining their core group of players. Andre Russell, Rinku Singh and Sunil Narine are some of the players who will surely be retained by the franchise. Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora, both bowlers who had a phenomenal season in 2024, stand a high chance of being retained or being roped in again via the Right to Match (RTM) route. However, IPL’s highest-paid player Mitchell Starc, who was bagged by KKR for Rs 24.5 crore, is expected to be released ahead of the IPL 2025 auction.
