IPL Retention 2025: It's official. Shreyas Iyer has not been retained by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The same was confirmed after KKR announced its retention list on Deadline Day on October 31 (Thursday). Shreyas had led the team to an IPL title last year.
Even though the Knights have used their full quota of six players that can be retained, Shreyas does not find a place in the side. The management has instead opted to retain Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Varun Charkravarthy. While Rinku was retained for Rs 13 crore, Varun was picked for Rs 12 crore, Sunil and Russell also fetched Rs 12 crore each. Harshit and Ramandeep as uncapped Indian players will be getting Rs 4 crore each.
The retention has allowed the defending champions a purse of Rs 51 crore heading into the IPL 2025 Mega Auction. However, since they have used all six of their retention options, they will not have any Right To Match (RTM) option available when the bidding war happens.
KKR In The Lookout For A Captain
With Shreyas back the in the auction pool, KKR would now be in the lookout for a captain. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals has also parted ways with their skipper Rishabh Pant. Royal Challengers Bengaluru have opted to release Faf du Plessis while Shikhar Dhawan, who led Punjab Kings in IPL 2024, has retired meaning the franchise will also be looking for a captain.