NEWS
Follow UsThree-time Indian Premier League (IPL) winners Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) did not retain Venkatesh Iyer, which triggered a massive reaction. Iyer played an integral role in KKR’s 2024 IPL winning campaign, where he amassed 370 runs at No.3, averaging 46 and striking at 158.80.
Despite his consistent contribution throughout the season, the franchise opted to retain Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana, and Ramandeep Singh. Iyer revealed that KKR’s decision not to retain him ahead of the new cycle left him teary-eyed.
"This [KKR] 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. I was on the receiving end of being one of the retentions in 2022, and I knew how it feels to be retained and to be left out as well,” Venkatesh Iyer told Revsportz.
“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.
The left-handed batter commended the franchise for covering all the bases covered in their retention. But Iyer insisted that he would have loved to be on the list, continuing his fairytale journey with the Knights.
"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," he said.
KKR retained six players and will head into the auction with INR 51 crore to build their remaining squad. It would be interesting to see how much of the 2024 IPL-winning squad they can bring back home.
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