Shreyas Iyer will not be retained by KKR despite leading them to IPL 2024 title!! Teammate shocks cricketing world

Amidst speculations about which players will be retained for the next three-year cycle of the Indian Premier League (IPL), major news emerged from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) camp about their captain Shreyas Iyer regarding the retentions.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the IPL trophy under the captaincy of Iyer in the 2024 season, and it was the Purple and Gold Army’s first title win in a decade. However, KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir was the mastermind behind the team’s memorable IPL 2024 triumph, but no one can deny that Iyer’s captaincy also played a major role in their successful campaign.

BCCI is likely to stick with three Indians and one foreign player along with one RTM card rule for retention

Well, the upcoming IPL 2025 auction has already grabbed a lot of attention as it will be a mega auction. Each team will have a limited number of retention options, with the remaining players returning to the auction pool. Moreover, each franchise is likely to be granted a right-to-match card.

According to a report by News18 Cricketnext, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering allowing either four retentions per team or three retentions along with one Right to Match (RTM) card for the franchises for the upcoming IPL 2025. The report also claimed that the idea to increase the number of retention slots did not receive significant support from the franchises.

While the BCCI has yet to announce its decision on the player retention rule, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are reportedly unlikely to retain their IPL 2024-winning captain, Shreyas Iyer. KKR pacer Harshit Rana revealed that KKR can release the skipper ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

KKR bowler Harshit Rana names top retentions, raises doubts over Shreyas Iyer

Rana recently appeared on Shubhankar Mishra's podcast, 'Unplugged', where he opened up about the three-time IPL champions’ retentions. As the cricket world is not sure whether KKR will retain Shreyas Iyer ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, it was not surprising that Rana is also in the same boat.

Actually, on the podcast, Rana was asked to pick the players whom the defending champions can retain ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, and the KKR bowler was quick to name Andres Russell and Sunil Narine as their top two retentions, as both have had great seasons and are key members of the team.

Rana then named Indian batter Rinku Singh as KKR’s third retention, but he was not sure about the last fourth one, and it was really surprising for the fans. He said that Iyer, Varun Chakravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer, and Nitish Rana would be his choices, but he couldn’t pick one of them.

Harshit Rana said on Shubhankar Mishra's podcast, 'Unplugged': “Narayan, Russell, and Rinku for sure. In the fourth, I am confused as to who we will retain. But with these three, I can say for sure. Varun Chakravorty, Shreyas Iyer, Venky (Venkatesh Iyer), and Rana (Nitish Rana). I don't know which one of these four we will retain.”

Watch Here:

Shreyas Iyer might not be in the top four retentions of KKR.
Huge hint was given by Harshit Rana.
Our Team is so strong that we will surely lose our gems in the mega-auction dynamics.
😔 pic.twitter.com/t2NMrPTLYH

— Abhishek (@vicharabhio) June 17, 2024