All Kolkata Knight Riders Retentions For IPL 2025: As the defending champions, the Kolkata Knight Riders wanted to retain as many players as they possibly could. So when it was announced that only six players could be retained ahead of the IPL 2024 auction, they went for the full docket, They have retained players who they believe would help them win another title next season.
Having retained all six players, the Knight Riders have zero Right to Match (RTM) cards left. This means that they could not use RTM to get back any of their great players, including the league-winning captain Shreyas Iyer.
With six players in the squad, two of which are uncapped, KKR have spent Rs. 57 crore. However, due to minimum expenditure rules, they will only have 51 crore to spend in the auction. Here are all Kolkata Knight Riders retention for IPL 2024.
All Kolkata Knight Riders Retentions For IPL 2025
1) Rinku Singh – 13 Crore
Rinku Singh has not only been one of the best T20 batters in India in recent times but in the world. He played in the IPL for years without making much of a splash before having a breakout season in 2023.
While Rinku did well in domestic cricket for some time, it wasn’t until 2023 that the whole world saw his potential. One of the most explosive batters in the world, the UP-based batter has won KKR several matches, including the famous win against the Gujarat Titans in 2023 when he hit five sixes in a row to win his side the match.
Going from a fee of Rs. 55 lakh to being his team’s top retention with 13 crore, Rinku Singh has come a long way. And having already impressed in the India jersey now, there is still a long way to go for him.
2) Varun Chakraborty – 12 Crore
Varun Chakravarthy has silently been one of the best bowlers in Kolkata Knight Riders history. In the 70 games he has played for the franchise, he has taken 82 wickets, making him the highest Indian wicket-taker for the team.
Making his IPL debut at the age of 27, the mystery spinner had his breakout season in 2020, on the back of which he even made it to the national team. But after 2021, his form in the IPL fell off a cliff; he was even removed from the Indian T20I side. But in 2023, he made a solid comeback, having his best season with 20 wickets. And now, in 2024, Chakravathy took 21 wickets in 15 games, being his team’s highest wicket-taker and playing a major role in KKR winning the IPL.
With him being such an important player for the franchise over the years, the Kolkata Knight Riders have shown a lot of faith in Varun Chakravarthy, making him the No. 2 retention and paying him the same money as some of the greatest players in franchise history.
3) Sunil Narine – 12 Crore
Sunil Narine is an absolute legend of the IPL and of the Kolkata Knight Riders. He is the fifth-highest wicket-taker in PL history and the highest for KKR with a whopping 180 scalps.
But for a few years in his long IPL career, Narine has also been one of the most explosive batters in the league. One of those seasons was in 2024, where he made 488 runs in 14 games with a strike rate of over 180. Couple that with 17 wickets in the season, and he was named the Most Valuable Player.
Having done so well for KKR throughout the years, the franchise still has a lot of faith in one of their two West Indian star all-rounders.
4) Andre Russell – 12 Crore
The second West Indian all-rounder in Kolkata Knight Riders is also a franchise legend. He is the second-highest wicket-taker in team history with 114 and also has the third-most runs (the most for an overseas player).
Russell also had a fantastic 2024 season. He scored 222 runs with a strike rate of 185, providing the team with an excellent finish to their inning. He also took 19 wickets and was high on the list of MVPs.
Despite getting up in age, KKR still has a lot of faith in their veteran all-rounder and his otherworldly abilities to change a match on a whim.
5) Harshit Rana – 4 Crore (Uncapped)
Having been a promising pacer from Delhi for a couple of seasons, Harshit Rana got to play a full season of the IPL for the first time in 2024 and impressed mightily. In the 13 games he played, he took 19 wickets and played a major role in the side winning the IPL.
His performances in the IPL resulted in Rana being selected in the Indian Cricket Team squad for several series, but he is yet to make his national team debut and thus remains uncapped.
KKR has retained Harshit Rana for a steal. If he had entered the auction, he would have earned far more than 4 crore.
6) Ramandeep Singh – 4 Crore (Uncapped)
KKR must have big plans for Ramandeep Singh, a player who has been doing well in the domestic circuit and for India A.
Ramandeep is a pace-bowling all-rounder, a breed that is worth their weight in gold in India. One of the most promising limited-overs cricketers in India, Ramandeep Singh is a player who would have gotten big bucks in the auction, so it was a no brainer for the Kolkata Knight Riders to retain him.
Big Players Not Retained
In one of the biggest news stories of this retention cycle, Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL-winning captain Shreyas Iyer would not be retained by the team. This is somewhat of an unprecedented move. However, this is somewhat understandable seeing how he has not been among the team’s best or the most in-form batters.
Other big names that were not retained by KKR were: wicketkeeper Phil Salt and Venkatesh Iyer, who had a fantastic 2024 season; vice-captain Nitish Rana; and the costliest player in IPL history, Mitchell Starc.
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