Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was one of the two teams to retain all 6 players on IPL 2025 Retention Day along with Rajasthan Royals. The defending champions tried their very best to retain their core setup of players but missed out on captain Shreyas Iyer. And with no more Right To Match (RTMs) remaining, there grows a lingering doubt about which players should KKR re-buy again from the IPL 2025 Mega Auction.
KKR couldn’t retain their ace captain Shreyas Iyer, but the defending champions managed to retain the core strength of the team, more or less. These included the likes of Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, and Varun Chakravarthy. Harshit Rana and Mamandeep Singh too were retained as uncapped players. With 6 players done, KKR doesn’t have any more RTMs in the auction.
But the foundation of a good team lies in its core. And Kolkata Knight Riders had that. They were not the best team perse in IPL 2024, but they played a proper team game which eventually saw them break a 10-year trophyless jinx. And now that everything starts afresh in the mega auction, it might be sensible for the team to re-buy some of their previous players, even though they don’t have RTM provisions.
Venkatesh Iyer
Venkatesh Iyer had a decent outing for KKR last season where he raked up 370 runs from 14 games with a strong average of 46.25. And with KKR having just Sunil Narine as the make-shift top-order batter, the Kolkata outfits should try their best to rebuy Iyer.
And also with no Shreyas Iyer, Venky Iyer is the obvious choice. Reports claim that Shreyas Iyer demanded 30 crores for retention which saw KKR didn’t budging down to his request. Instead, KKR retained Rinky Singh for as high as 13 crores. In fact, another player who didn’t make the cut was Nitish Rana.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz
The talented Afghnistani keeper-batter, Rahmanullah Gurbaz can also be a good option for KKR. Though usually kept as a makeshift player, he brings added dynamics to the team. Gurbaz is an aggressive batter who is also known for his good-keeping attributes.
Furthermore, Gurbaz can easily slot himself anywhere in the top order thereby making him a valuable asset that KKR should explore in the IPL 2025 Mega Auction.
Mitchell Starc
KKR broke the bank in the IPL 2024 auction picking up Australian pace sensation Mitchell Starc for a whopping price of 24.75 crores. While Starc was not retained, KKR can easily go for the speedster in the auction again.
Though a bit high in value-for-money, Starc went on to scalp 17 wickets from 14 games with an average of 26.12. There is no way Starc would go for such a huge amount this time. But KKR can get themselves a real deal if they can rebuy the superstar for a lesser price.
KKR in IPL 2025 Mega Auction
Number of RTM left – 0
Rinku Singh – 13 Cr (18)
Varun Chakaravarthy – 12 Cr (14)
Sunil Narine – 12 Cr (11)
Andre Russell – 12 Cr (18)
Harshit Rana – Uncapped, Rs 4 Cr (4)
Ramandeep Singh – Uncapped, Rs 4 Cr (4)
Total Spent – 69 Crore
Purse Remaining – 51 Crore
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