‘Trying to trim that down to six was very challenging’ - KKR CEO Venky Mysore explains retention strategy

There was a lot of hubbub regarding Kolkata Knight Riders’ possible retentions ahead of the IPL 2025 (Indian Premier League) mega-auction. Leading to the IPL deadline day, a few reports claimed that Andre Russell was likely to part ways with the franchise after 10 years, but in the end, the all-rounder was retained for INR 10 crore. However, despite several conversations, captain Shreyas Iyer had to be released. 

Rinku Singh was KKR’s first choice retention for INR 13 crore while Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine and Russell signed the papers for INR 12 crore each. Uncapped players Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh were signed for INR 4 crore. Meanwhile, explaining the strategy behind the retentions, KKR CEO Venky Mysore stated that the franchise would have liked to retain 10 or 11 players as trimming down to six wasn’t easy.

Besides, he also explained the relationship that the franchise shares with each of the players that have been retained, particularly Narine and Russell, who have been part of the squad for over a decade now.

“The no-brainers would have been maybe 10 or 11 players, but trying to trim that down to six was very challenging because it’s about the players that you have built an equation with and who have done fantastic for KKR. Sunil has been with us for 12 years while Andre has been with us for 10 years,” Mysore said while interacting on KKR's YouTube channel.

“Varun has been associated with KKR for a long time, since 2019 and Rinku as well has been with for a significant amount of time, since 2018. Harshit has been with the team for three years while Ramandeep came in last year and really made a big impact. So I think it's a good combination,” he added.

Check out what Venky Mysore had to say regarding KKR retentions here:

Also Read - IPL 2025: Kolkata Knight Riders Retained Players, Released Players and Purse Remaining ahead of Mega Auction

KKR's purse left with 51 Crore for IPL mega auction

Notably, Kolkata Knight Riders have INR 51 crore to spend in the auction. They have let go of some of their key players from last season, including Shreyas, Nitish Rana, Mitchell Starc and Phil Salt and would be hoping to bring some of them back from the auction.