KKR Retention List: 4 Players Kolkata Knight Riders May Retain Ahead of IPL 2025 Auction

Add as a preferred source on Google

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ended IPL 2024 as champions after a thumping 8-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday (May 26)

After a near miss for the title in 2021 followed by disappointing seventh-place finish in 2022 and 2023 seasons, the Kolkata Knight Riders, who topped the points table at the end of the league phase, ended a decade-long wait to lift their third IPL title.

KKR, who lost a few players through injury or personal reasons before the season started, made good replacements especially with Phil Salt coming in for his compatriot Jason Roy.

The newly-crowned champions will be one of the sides that will want to continue next season with the same group. But, may be forced to rebuild again as the 2025 auction will be a mega auction, meaning only a limited number of players will be allowed to be retained.

Before the previous IPL Mega Auction in 2022, the Knights had retained West Indies stars Andre Russell and Sunil Narine as well as Varun Chakravarthy and Venkatesh Iyer.

Teams are reportedly being allowed only four retentions like the previous IPL Mega Auctions. However, there are also reports that the franchise owners have requested the BCCI to allow each team up to 8 retentions.

While there is no official confirmation on how many retentions will be allowed ahead of IPL 2025 Mega Auction, it is very likely that only a minimum of 4 players may be allowed to be retained by each team. Plus, there could also be a Right To Match (RTM) card available for every team.

If only 4 players are allowed to be retained, then KKR may be one of the few teams that will face a big challenge on who to release and retain ahead of the next auction as they look to assemble a squad that could see them challenging again in the next few seasons.

Which 4 players may Kolkata Knight Riders retain ahead of IPL 2025 Auction?

There are several players who KKR would like to retain, but will be forced to release many ahead of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction which could take place before the next season anywhere between December 2024 and February 2025.

The Caribbean duo of Narine and Russell are likely to be first two picks for KKR. But who among the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Varun Chakravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Harshi Rana, Nitish Rana and Mitchell Starc will join the duo in retention?

Varun Chakravarthy, who has been a prominent member in the side for the last few seasons, is likely to be retained again by KKR before the next auction. The Knights, however, will face a huge task on who will be their final retention.

While Nitish, Harshit, Starc and several other stars may be looked at during the auction, Shreyas, Rinku and Venkatesh will be the options for the final retention. It’s very likely that KKR will go with skipper Shreyas as the final choice or in fact the first choice to lead them again.

Venkatesh Iyer, who was among the retentions before the last mega auction, will be one of the two among himself and Rinku as well as Nitish and Harshit for the RTM options.

Meanwhile a few players’ time at the franchise may have ended. KKR will be desperate for BCCI to expand the retention slots or at least provide more RTM cards. If it’s only four retentions and one RTM, then KKR will be disappointed. So, let's see the possible retention list of the Knights:

KKR Retention List 2025

• Shreyas Iyer - retained
• Andre Russell - retained
• Sunil Narine - retained
• Varun Chakravarthy - retained/RTM
• Venkatesh Iyer/Rinku Singh - retained/RTM