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Venkatesh Iyer was left emotional and ‘teary-eyed’ after he was not on the list of players retained by his former IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

KKR, IPL 2024 winner, KKR made some significant moves, including leaving out their skipper, Shreyas Iyer, who helped them win the title. KKR elected to keep Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, and Ramandeep Singh.

Another notable absentee was Venkatesh Iyer, who has been a key part of KKR’s XI over the last few seasons.

Iyer has been with KKR since his IPL debut in 2021. In his debut year, he had a terrific season with the bat, helping KKR reach the final. He joined the club as an opener amid the season and scored 370 runs in 10 games at an excellent average of 41.11 and a strike rate of 128.47.

The Madhya Pradesh allrounder had a disappointing season in 2022 but rebounded in 2023 with over 400 runs. In IPL 2024, he took his game to the next level, scoring 370 runs in 14 matches with an average of 46.25 and a strike rate of 158.80. He scored a fantastic 52 from 26 in the final, helping KKR beat SRH to win the IPL 2024 title.

Venkatesh Iyer shares share logical explanation on why he wasn’t retained by KKR

Venkatesh Iyer discussed the team’s retention policy with RevSportz shortly after KKR concluded its retentions. He believes KKR has done a decent job with retention, but admits that he would have liked to be on the list.

Venkatesh Iyer was emotional after being not retained from the franchise, but he understands how the auction works.

“KKR has had a very good retention. I think they have covered easily 14-16 overs and with the bat, they have almost covered five positions. So, they had a great retention but I would have loved to be on that list.

KKR have given me a big breakthrough and I have given everything for KKR and beyond cricket, there’s something called emotion. This is a family. There’s so much emotion. It kind of makes me teary-eyed that my name is not on the retention list but I am a practical guy. I understand how it works,” Iyer told RevSportz.

Venkatesh Iyer made his international debut in 2021 following his outstanding achievements for KKR during that season. He had a breakout season at the plate and proved to be the X-factor for his squad.

Venkatesh Iyer hopes KKR buys him in IPL 2025 mega auction

The 29-year-old lauded Kolkata Knight Riders for their retention but is still hopeful of playing for the franchise. He hopes that KKR signs him up again in the IPL 2025 auction.

“I was on the receiving end of on being one of the retentions in 2022 and I knew how it feels to be retained and to be left out as well. So, I think KKR have had a great retention, really happy for that. I would love to be there and the doors are open. If I have a good auction then I might still end up playing for the team I love the most,” he added.

Many key KKR players like Nitish Rana, Mitchell Starc, and Phil Salt were also not retained by the franchise.

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