Every time a mega auction appears just after a franchise wins a season of the Indian Premier League, it becomes hard for them to go with five to six players as the retentions. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who won their third title of the tournament in 2024 to end their drought of ten years, now find themselves under a little bit of pressure.
KKR finished the group stage of the league with nine victories in 14 games at a net run rate of +1.428. They bullied the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) side twice in the first qualifier and the final of the event, as Gautam Gambhir, their mentor for the season, and the captain Shreyas Iyer were appreciated for their job.
Now Gambhir has become the new head coach of the Indian side, which rules him out of the relationship with the Purple franchise, and they wonder if they could retain their captain, who also can look to fetch a huge cheque going into the auction of the tournament.
KKR to retain Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and these players for IPL 2025
Two of the most notable and vital players for the Knight Riders in the history of the league are Andre Russell and Sunil Narine from the West Indies. The former has notched up 2484 runs in the IPL in 127 games at an average of nearly 30 and a strike rate of around 175, with the help of 11 half-centuries at a best score of unbeaten 88 runs.
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With the ball in hand, he has picked up 115 scalps in 112 innings at an average of 23 and an economy of 8.15, with a best bowling figure of 5/15 in an inning. Sunil Narine featured for the KKR side at the start of his IPL career.
Gambhir, just like his captaincy time, used Narine as the opener and earned rewards with both hands. The left-handed batter creamed 488 runs in just 14 innings at an average of around 35 with a strike rate of more than 180, with the help of three half-centuries and one century.
The magician with the ball has collected 180 wickets in 175 innings for the KKR side at an average of 25.39 and an economy rate of under seven, which should be enough for the franchise to keep him under their control.
Rinku Singh has been going through a dream time. In 46 games for the side, the left-handed middle-order batter cracked 893 runs at an average of around 31 and a strike rate of over 140, with the help of four half-centuries and a strike rate of 143.33. In 2021, his colorful numbers of 474 runs at a strike rate of almost 150 drove him to the Indian selection.
Varun Chakaravarthy is another successful player for the KKR side. The off-spinner has collected 83 wickets in 71 games at an average of 24.12 and a strike rate of three overs with an economy rate of 7.56. He is also likely to get retained for the three-time champions.
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Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh are two potential uncapped players for the franchise. The former was the fourth-highest wicket-taker of the league in 2024, with 19 scalps at an average of 20.15 and an economy rate of 9.08.
The latter is someone who has shown his incredible fielding skills and can also prove to be a great batter in the lower order. The final list of retention for the KKR side is expected to come around October 31.