Ahead of IPL 2025 retention, there has been a considerable amount of speculation over Shreyas Iyer and his association with the Kolkata Knight Riders. KKR lifted the IPL 2024 trophy under the captaincy of Shreyas, however, several media outlets have stated that the player and the team have not had any conversation in regards to the latter’s plans. That said, Times of India confirms that KKR did speak to Shreyas regarding his future — To this, the news outlet further added that the franchise does not regard the Indian batter as their top retention candidate.
“Last Friday as of April 8, 2023, no communication existed between the two. There was a lot of noise about Shreyas Iyer and KKR but the two never met to talk about the strategies or the IPL retentions for the outer future. The first communication took place on Sunday,” stated the insider.
Sources claimed that KKR‘s disinterest in holding onto Shreyas is rather shocking. It is known that several other teams have already approached the player who worked for his services in a leadership capacity.
“Iyer won a title last season, has been a proven leader when he successfully led Delhi Capitals. He has been a hot property in the league and it’s no surprise there were approaches from multiple franchises the moment KKR chose to take a backseat. If he goes into the auction pool, there will be at least three franchises who would be looking to get him. Indian middle-order bat, proven leader. Who would want to miss that combination? Not many,” a source told TOI.
At the same time, former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh picked Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Phil Salt and Sunil Narine as the five most likely retentions for KKR to ensure that their core group remains intact.
“KKR were the best side in the season, so it will become a very tough situation for them to go out or keep anyone. But it’s a question of retention so there are only a certain number of you can retain. If i want to see or unless i have to pick my 6 players, which 6 players will be there for KKR? I guess it will be Shreyas Iyer, Phil Salt, Narine, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh,” Harbhajan informed Star Sports.
Comments are closed.