Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) CEO Venky Mysore has revealed that Shreyas Iyer was initially the franchise’s top choice for retention ahead of the IPL 2025 season. However, despite their intentions, the two parties couldn’t come to an agreement, leading Iyer to enter the auction pool.

KKR utilized all six of their available retention spots, headlined by young Indian talent Rinku Singh, retained for INR 13 crore. The franchise also kept West Indian stars Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, along with Varun Chakravarthy, for INR 12 crore each. They rounded off their retentions with uncapped players Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh, both at INR 4 crore.

Addressing the situation with Iyer, Mysore explained that while the Mumbai-born player was KKR’s No. 1 choice, the retention process requires mutual agreement between player and franchise. “It’s a matter of mutually agreeing. It’s not a one-sided right that a franchise has, the player also has to consider various factors and agree. Somewhere along the line, that agreement doesn’t happen due to various factors – money or somebody wanting to test their value," Mysore told Revsportz.

KKR heads into the IPL 2025 auction with ₹51 crore and no Right-to-Match (RTM) cards, which will heavily influence their strategy. Mysore acknowledged the challenging rules this year, but expressed confidence in the team’s approach. “This is my 15th auction, and I am constantly amazed. We prepared for this decision, and we believe it presents a good approach for us,” he added.