The IPL retentions for the 2025 mega auction took place on Thursday. One of the challenges of having a mega auction right after winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) title is that teams often have to part ways with several important players from the wining squad. This is the situation facing the IPL 2024 champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Despite managing to retain six key players, including their captain Shreyas Iyer, KKR had to bid farewell to prominent names like Mitchell Starc, Nitish Rana, and Venkatesh Iyer. The latter, who has been part of the franchise since 2021, expressed his emotions after not being retained.
“In the case of KKR, it’s a complete family. It’s not just the 16, 20 or 25 players, but also the management, the staff, the guys behind the scenes. There is so much emotion behind that that it kind of makes me a little teary-eyed that my name is not on the retention list,” said Venkatesh Iyer to RevSportz.
Venky’s role in KKR
Venkatesh has been instrumental for KKR in the past four IPL seasons, helping the team reach the final in 2021 and clinching the title in 2024, where he scored the winning runs. While reflecting on the emotional atmosphere at KKR, he acknowledged the franchise’s strong retention strategy.
“The honest thing, as someone who analyses cricket as well, is that KKR has had a very good retention. They have covered 14-16 overs with the ball, and with the bat, they have covered five positions,” said Venkatesh.
Venky wants to play again for KKR
“I would’ve loved to be on the retention list, KKR has given me the big breakthrough and I’ve given everything for them,” he added. Venkatesh had an impressive second half of IPL 2024, scoring four fifties and accumulating 370 runs at a strike rate of 158.80. Despite not being retained, Venkatesh remains hopeful about his future with the team.
“The doors are open, and if I have a good auction, I may still end up playing for the team I love the most,” said Venkatesh.
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