IPL 2025: Rating teams based on their retentions and releases

3. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

The three-time champions were one of the teams who pushed for more retentions than the six which were allowed as they wanted to retain most of the players who brought them glory in IPL 2024. They had to bid farewell to captain Shreyas Iyer, who reportedly wanted to assess his value at the auction. Therefore, the Knights will be one of the franchises who will need to rope in a player who can lead the side.

The Kolkata-based franchise retained Rinku Singh for INR 13 crore and the trio of Andre Russell, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Sunil Narine for INR 12 crore apiece. Meanwhile, the uncapped duo of Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh will continue with the franchise for INR 4 crore each. So, the Knights will not have any RTM cards at the auction table.

Kolkata have done a commendable job with their retentions as they have two world-class all-rounders - Russell and Narine, and a capable mystery spinner in Varun in their ranks. Also, Harshit and Ramandeep had impressive seasons for KKR last year and have been in good form in the domestic circuit after the tournament.

Mitchell Starc became the most expensive player in the IPL last year as KKR had roped in at the mini-auction table for a whopping INR 24.75 crore. However, the Australian veteran couldn't hold onto his spot in the side, even after putting in Player of the Match performances in Qualifier 1 and the final. KKR will need to pick a seamer who can take wickets with the new ball and also strike at the death. Ideally, if they get an experienced player like Shami or Bhuvneshwar Kumar, it could stand them in good stead. They will have INR 51 crore in their purse at the auction.