Every season of the Indian Premier League is a special event, and the preparation of a new season always begins 5-6 months before the scheduled timing. As like all ten teams along with BCCI are preparing for the IPL 2025. Kolkata Knight Riders, who won their third IPL title in 2024, will look to make some strong decisions as they will eye to defend their title.
However, the next season will see a mega auction where all the teams can only retain a limited set of players, and the remaining players will go under the hammer. That’s where KKR need to make some bold decisions. They have a number of players whom they want to retain, but as per rule, they can only retain a few. So, let’s talk about predicted retentions for the defending champion, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), ahead of the IPL 2025 auction.
Read Also: IPL 2025 Retained Players List
KKR IPL 2025 Retained Players list
Four players whom KKR can retain ahead of the IPL 2025 auction
1. Sunil Narine
The all-rounder was the MVP for KKR in 2024. He was the prime reason that they won the title. Narine had the best IPL season of his career, where he did well with the bat and the ball both. Narine scored 488 runs at a strike rate of 180.74, with one century and three half-centuries. With the ball, he picked up 17 wickets at an incredible economy rate of 6.69. His inclusion in the team gives a great balance and he still can play for 2-3 seasons. That’s where KKR won’t take a risk to release him.
2. Andre Russell
Just like Narine, Andre Russell is another asset for KKR. He has been their biggest matchwinner over the years and done well in 2024. Russell scored 222 runs with the bat a strike rate of 185 and took 19 wickets. The West Indian superstar will be very hard to buy if he gets into the auction. Hence, he will surely be on KKR’s retention list ahead of the IPL 2025 auction.
Read Also: IPL 2025 Latest News
3. Shreyas Iyer
The KKR captain, Shreyas Iyer, is likely to be the third retention for the franchise. He captained the team well and also performed well with the bat. He scored 351 runs at an average of 39 and a strike rate of 146.86. KKR bought Iyer in 2022 for his leadership skills, and he has done a brilliant job as captain for the franchise. So, he will be one of the retentions for KKR ahead of the IPL 2025.
4. Varun Chakravarthy or Venkatesh Iyer
KKR will be a big headache in front of them when they have to decide the fourth retention. Mitchell Starc can be rebought because KKR paid more than 23 crores on him. But the decision to choose between Varun Chakravarthy or Venkatesh Iyer will be huge. Both had a fair contribution in KKR’s IPL 2024 win. Varun finished with the second-most wickets with 19 and is very lethal at Eden Gardens. Iyer scored 370 runs at an average and strike rate of 46.25 and 158.79, respectively, and scored a fifty in Qualifier 1 and the final. But we believe, KKR might go with Varun Chakravarthy to keep the spinning duo with them.
Read Also:- CSK IPL 2025 – Retained & Released Players List
KKR IPL 2025 Released Players list
Players Name | Role |
---|---|
Shreyas Iyer | Batter |
Rinku Singh | Batter |
Rahmanullah Gurbaz | Batter |
Nitish Rana | Batter |
Sherfane Rutherford | Batter |
Phil Salt | Wicketkeeper |
K.S Bharat | Wicketkeeper Batter |
Manish Pandey | Batter |
Angkrish Raghuvanshi | Batter |
Anukul Roy | Batting All-rounder |
Ramandeep Singh | All-rounder |
Suyash Sharma | Bowler |
Allah Ghazanfar | Bowler |
Dushmantha Chameera | Bowler |
Sakib Hussain | Bowler |
Harshit Rana | Bowler |
Vaibhav Arora | Bowler |
Mitchell Starc | Bowler |
Chetan Sakariya | Bowler |
Read Also:- RCB IPL 2025 – Retained & Released Players List
Diclaimer: Above content includes predictions and expert analyses for IPL 2025. These are based on current trends and data but actual player retentions and selections are subject to franchise management decisions and may differ from these predictions. We will update in real time as official confirmations come in. Keep visiting UC Cricket.