Very hardly any franchise will let go of their captain, who has finally ended their title drought of around a decade. But that has been the rare case between Shreyas Iyer and the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who received their trophy for the first time since 2014 after beating the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Shreyas Iyer displayed his incredible captaincy in the batting and bowling department of the game. Whether it was about promoting the other batters in different situations or making some smart choices with the bowler, the middle-order batter of India has stood up with flying colors in every single scenario of the game.
In 14 innings of the previous season of the event, the right-handed batter managed 351 runs in 14 innings at an average of 39 and a strike rate of more than 146 with the help of two half-centuries at a best score of unbeaten 58 runs.
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However, the recent few reports claimed that perhaps the KKR captain is keeping in touch with some of the rival franchises to be their new captain. That was keeping him in contention of moving to the mega auction of the IPL 2025, but a last-minute dialogue between Shreyas Iyer and the Knight Riders management is expected to change the dynamics of the development.
KKR management is yet to confirm the selection of Shreyas Iyer for IPL 2025
It has been known that the conversation began during the weekend, but before that, there was hardly any approach from the three-time champions to keep the batter in the team for the next three seasons of the tournament.
“As of last Friday, the two parties hadn’t spoken. There was a lot of word going around on Shreyas Iyer and KKR but, the two never sat across the table to have any discussion about the plans for the future or the IPL retentions. The first conversation happened on Sunday.” The ‘Times of India’ has reported.
The previous information addressed that even though it was expected to be a straightforward selection to keep Iyer in their camp for the next three seasons of the event, the franchise wasn’t keen to have him as the first retention.
“Shreyas Iyer won a title last season and has been a proven leader when he successfully led Delhi Capitals. He has been a hot property in the league, and it’s no surprise there were approaches from multiple franchises the moment KKR chose to take a backseat.” The TOI report has been addressed.
“If he goes into the auction pool, there will be at least three franchises who would be looking to get him. Indian middle-order bat, and a proven leader. Who would want to miss that combination? Not many.” The report expressed.
The likes of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Punjab Kings (PBKS), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and Delhi Capitals (DC) have been looking forward for a captain for the next season. That puts Shreyas Iyer in a great state of becoming the new leader of any other franchise.
However, the report stated that the co-owner of the KKR, Shahrukh Khan, advocated for a small auction for the new season, which would have helped them in a different state. With no Gautam Gambhir, Ryan ten Doeschate, and Abhishek Nayar taking up the roles of the Blue Brigade, there will be fresh back-room stuff among the franchise for the new edition of the tournament.
As of now, Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana, and Rinku Singh are expected to be confirmed retained players while they may use the RTM card for Varun Chakaravarthy.