IPL 2025: Rinku Singh OUT of KKR; Kolkata's 4 retentions sealed after rule announcement by BCCI
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Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary recently picked four players of Kolkata Knight Riders who are likely to be retained ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. Interestingly, his retention picks did not include their star cricketer Rinku Singh.
According to Manoj Tiwary, the four players who will be retained are Shreyas Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Harshit Rana. While Iyer is the captain and led the team to a title win last season, Russell, Narine, and Rana also played key roles in the team's victory.
Andre Russell and Sunil Narine have been associated with the franchise for a long time. The West Indies stars have been key to Knight Riders' success over the years and have been a part of their multiple title wins.
Manoj Tiwary's retention picks for KKR
Manoj Tiwary spoke to RevSportz regarding the retention picks for Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the upcoming auction. Manoj Tiwary believes that KKR had a good balance in their team last year but it will be a real headache for them to decide on their retention picks ahead of the auction.
During his conversation, Manoj Tiwary named Shreyas Iyer as the team's first retention pick followed by the West Indian duo of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine. Meanwhile, young fast bowler Harshit Rana, who performed exceptionally well last season, also found a place in Tiwary's retention list.
🎙️Manoj Tiwari: KKR had a really good balance last year. It is going to be a headache for them to decide their retention.
— KKR Vibe (@KnightsVibe) October 4, 2024
Manoj names captain Shreyas Iyer as first retention followed by Russell, Narine, and Harshit Rana.
- @CricSubhayan, RevSportz pic.twitter.com/6HHaBzssup
Manoj Tiwary himself is a former player of KKR and helped the team win their first-ever IPL season in 2012
Performance of these players for KKR
Shreyas Iyer had a fantastic season in IPL 2024 as he led the team brilliantly. His handling of the team under high pressure was commendable and he received high praise ahead from various experts as well.
Andre Russell and Sunil Narine have been the pillars of this team over the years. Knight Riders have always retained both of them since their arrival and are likely to follow the same path this time as well. Both the players played key roles in KKR's title victory in IPL 2024.
While Russell was at his best with both bat and ball, Narine was even better with his Player of the Tournament-winning performance. Russell picked up 19 wickets in the season while Narine got 17 wickets. With the bat, Narine smashed 488 runs at a strike rate of 180.74 while Russell scored 222 runs at a strike rate of 185.
Harshit Rana's IPL 2024 season
Meanwhile, Harshit Rana had a breakthrough season in IPL 2024, claiming 19 wickets at an average of 20.15. Rana was the joint second-highest wicket-taker for Kolkata in IPL 2024 and impressed everyone with his pace and the ability to pick up crucial wickets. Star batter Rinku Singh did not find a place in Manoj Tiwary's retention picks.
The final date for the submission of retained players for the franchises is October 31. The teams can retain a maximum of six players with one of them the uncapped player. The teams can select a maximum of two uncapped players.
