2 weeks Ago By Rishav Narang
For the first time in history, an IPL-winning captain left his franchise just five months after winning the trophy and Shreyas Iyer will be part of the IPL 2025 mega-auction. The right-handed batsman captained Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a title win in IPL 2024. While the fans were expecting Iyer to lead the Kolkata-based franchise for many years, his stint with the team lasted just three seasons.
While the fans couldn't fathom the reason behind KKR not being able to retain their IPL-winning captain, a report has made a sensational claim. TimesofIndia.com has reported that KKR had their first chat with Iyer only three days before the IPL retention day.
The report adds that Iyer was asking for a high fee. However, the two parties didn't have a timely discussion. TOI has also reported that the three-time IPL-winning team was always looking to retain Andre Russell and Sunil Narine.
Both all-rounders were retained for Rs 12 crore each. Rinku Singh, who will have a salary of Rs 13 crore, was KKR's first-choice retention. The report of KKR not contacting Iyer in advance comes as a big surprise.
Recently, Mitchell Starc made a shocking reveal and said that he hadn't heard from the franchise. Starc was KKR's star performer in the qualifier and the final. "I still haven’t heard from them.
It is what it is, that’s franchise cricket, so all barring the Hyderabad boys (Pat Cummins and Travis Head) will be in the auction," Starc told The Daily Telegraph. KKR retained six players before the mega-auction and they don't have the Right to Match card. Apart from Rinku, Russell and Narine, KKR retained Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh.
Harshit and Ramandeep are uncapped and they were retained for Rs 4 crore each. KKR will enter the mega-auction with a purse of Rs 51 crore. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Cricket, Sports and around the world.
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