IPL Auction 2025: Shreyas Iyer left KKR because DC co-owners promised him captaincy

Delhi Capitals are set to roll back the clock as they look for a new captain from the next season of the Indian Premier League. The Capitals are set to bid high for Shreyas Iyer, who last played for the franchise in IPL 2021, and have promised him captaincy.

Recently, Delhi Capitals did not include Rishabh Pant in their retention list. It means that the franchise will need to appoint a new captain ahead of the next season. While Axar Patel remains one of the options, they are likely to take a final decision after the auction.

The Capitals have the third-highest purse in the upcoming auction at INR 73 crore which means they can use a big amount to get back Iyer in their team. Iyer led the Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL 2024 title win and has a good record as a captain.

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GMR Group is interested in bringing back Shreyas Iyer

According to a report from PTI, Delhi Capitals co-owners GMR group are keen to bring Shreyas Iyer back for the IPL 2025 season. The news was confirmed by an IPL official who told this to PTI. The official also confirmed that the other teams might just want to enter Iyer's bidding to engage DC in a bidding war

"There won't be too many teams that would want Iyer the T20 batter but just to ensure DC spends a bomb on a player, they might engage in a bidding war for Iyer," the IPL franchise official was quoted as saying by PTI.

Not only the Capitals are keen to bring back Iyer, but they are also looking to make him the captain of the team. Iyer also has previous experience in leading Delhi Capitals.

Shreyas Iyer was not expected to be released by Kolkata Knight Riders after he took them to a title win last season. But KKR CEO Venky Mysore confirmed that both Iyer and KKR were not on the same page regarding the retention. Iyer had asked for a higher amount and finally decided to enter the auction to test his value.

Shreyas Iyer's captaincy record

Shreyas Iyer has all the attributes that can make him an expensive buy in the auction pool. Besides being an international quality player, he is a good player of spin in the middle overs, an aspect which an IPL franchise checks before going after a player.

Iyer also provides a team with a potential captaincy option with his proven leadership skills. The 29-year-old has previously been the captain of Delhi Capitals and knows the team environment well.

He has played in two IPL finals as a captain, in which he has won one and lost the other. In 2024, he led KKR to their third IPL win while in the 2020 season, he led Delhi Capitals to the final but unfortunately, they lost to Mumbai Indians in the summit clash.

What about KL Rahul?

The PTI report also states that Royal Challengers Bengaluru could be the potential bidder for KL Rahul. Left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh is also on Punjab Kings' radar after the franchise decided not to retain him.