In a recent interview, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) CEO Venky Mysore revealed that Shreyas Iyer was the franchise’s top choice for retention ahead of the IPL 2025 mega-auction. Despite leading KKR to their IPL 2024 title, Shreyas chose to explore his market value in the auction, leading to his exclusion from the retention list.
Shreyas Iyer’s Impact on KKR
Shreyas Iyer joined KKR in 2022 and was appointed captain, replacing Eoin Morgan. Under his leadership, KKR ended their 10-year title drought by winning the IPL 2024 championship. In 29 matches for KKR, Shreyas scored 752 runs at an average of 34.18 and a strike rate of 140.03, including five fifties.
The Retention Process
Mysore emphasized that the retention process requires mutual agreement between the player and the franchise. He stated, “It’s not a one-sided right that the franchise has. The player also has to consider various factors and agree.” Despite Shreyas being KKR’s first choice, the agreement could not be reached due to differing views on monetary aspects and Shreyas’s desire to test his market value.
Venky Mysore’s Perspective
“He’s captain and we have to build around that leadership and we picked him in 2022 specifically for that. Unfortunately, he was injured in 2023. The moment he came back, he got his captaincy back. He was an integral part, did a terrific job and I enjoyed a personal rapport with him. But at the end of the day, people also have to make their own decisions and decide on what’s best for them and the direction that they want to go,” Mysore added.
