IPL 2025: Five Kolkata Knight Riders stars who have left KKR, Complete List of Overseas Departures

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As the IPL 2025 auction approaches, franchises have named the retained list of players. Kolkata Knight Riders, the defending IPL champions, have kept six players in their ranks.

Rinku Singh is the highest pick for the Knight Riders for Rs 13 crore, while West Indies duo Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, along with Varun Chakravarthy will earn Rs 12 crore each. Uncapped India players Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh have also been roped in for Rs 4 crore.

KKR's victory in the previous season, their first in a decade, was a monumental achievement. However, this victory's core team is on the brink of disbandment, as many key players have left the franchise.

IPL 2025: Five Star Players to leave Kolkata Knight Riders

Despite having a decent season in IPL 2024, here are five stars who have left the Knight Riders this year.

Nitish Rana

Nitish Rana, who led Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2023, has been left out of the retention list. The southpaw had an injury-marred season and didn't play a big part, and will now be in the auction in the coming month.

Mitchell Starc

Mitchell Starc was bought for a record fee of Rs 24.75 crore in the IPL 2024 auction. Starc had an inconsistent outing with KKR but was excellent in the latter half of the tournament, especially in the playoffs and the final. The Australia pace star scalped 17 wickets in the end, but the KKR management have decided to release him after just a solitary season.

Venkatesh Iyer

Venkatesh Iyer, another standout performer for KKR with 370 runs at a strike rate of 158, is also set to be released. Despite his explosive batting and having been retained before the IPL 2022 auction, Iyer's journey with KKR appears to be reaching its end at least till the auction.

Phil Salt

Phil Salt, the English batsman who revitalized KKR's top-order alongside Sunil Narine, is another player whose future with the team is uncertain. Salt's aggressive batting, which yielded 435 runs and four fifties last season, and his proficiency behind the stumps, significantly contributed to KKR's success. Despite these achievements, Salt is released. KKR may pick the Englishman from the auction table.

Shreyas Iyer

Kolkata Knight Riders' title-winning captain Shreyas Iyer has also departed the franchise after his three-year stint. It is unlikely that Shreyas will be bought from the auction as the India batter was reluctant to extend his stay at the franchise. Iyer had a fine season in 2024, but will seek pastures new in IPL 2025.

This period of restructuring and strategizing is crucial for KKR as they look to build on their recent success while navigating the challenges of retention and auction dynamics.

Complete List of Overseas Players leaving KKR

Only Andre Russell and Sunil Narine have been retained by the Knight Riders, which means a total of six overseas stars have left the franchise ahead of the mega auction. The overseas players who have left are-

Mitchell Starc, Phil Salt, Allah Ghazanfar, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sherfane Rutherford, Dushmantha Chameera.

The decisions made in the coming days will shape the team's future and its aspirations for IPL 2025 and beyond. The class of 2024 for KKR reached excellent heights, but some of the players' journey ends with the Knight Riders at this juncture.