The IPL franchises have announced the list of players that they have retained and released ahead of the mega auction in 2025, on October 31. One of the biggest news coming out of the retention deadline day was the fact that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) released the captain of their title winning season in IPL 2024, Shreyas Iyer. This was the first time in history that a franchise released their captain the season after winning the title. Now, according to a report, it looks like a promise from Iyer’s former IPL franchise has something to do with this decision.
Delhi Capitals Offered Captaincy To Shreyas Iyer
According to a report by PTI, Delhi Capitals, who will be in control of the GMR group for the next two years, have expressed interest in bringing Shreyas Iyer back to the franchise for the upcoming season. He was even promised to be handed the captaincy of the franchise. Iyer was the DC captain when they reached the IPL final back in 2020.
“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,” an official of the IPL franchise informed the news agency.
Shreyas Iyer Was Our No.1 Choice: KKR CEO Venky Mysore
In an interaction with RevSportz, KKR CEO Venky Mysore hinted that Shreyas Iyer and the franchise did not mutually agree to the fee that he was demanding. He even revealed that Iyer was their no.1 retention choice.
“The interesting thing about retention is that there are so many aspects to it and forces as play. But what is fundamental to a retention that most people sometimes don’t understand that 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. Sometimes along the line that agreement doesn’t happen because of various factors; money or somebody wants to test their value or whatever it is. That influences a decision as well, eventually, but he was No.1 on our list,” Mysore said.
