Category: IPL 2025

The Kolkata Knight Riders are letting go of Shreyas Iyer. In talks with the team’s management, the Mumbai batter has shown himself to be a tough negotiator, seemingly compelling the reigning champions to give up on their skipper.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will receive KKR’s retention list on Thursday night. It is now expected that he will not be on it. Even though exercising the Right to Match (RTM) card is still an option, that will have to wait until later more specifically, until the auction time. Which is sometime next month.

Given that Indian players are typically chosen by teams as captains. Especially after KKR won the championship the previous season. He could be a candidate for leadership roles. IPL rumors state that a few organizations have apparently approached him. Shreyas Iyer was allegedly requesting an outrageous fee.

Even though one is permitted to have a heightened picture of one’s résumé. IPL professionals usually discuss whether fitness concerns, prior performances, and present international status exactly add up before making a decision on a player. It’s no secret that the IPL’s valuation is determined by extensive statistical analysis.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Shreyas Iyer was purchased by KKR in the 2022 auction, and his current IPL pay is INR 12.25 crore. He averaged 30.85 while scoring 401 runs in 14 games during the season. Due to five innings without a loss in the 2024 season, he scored 50 fewer runs at an average of 39. He had to get surgery for a recurrent back ailment that kept him out of the 2023 season. He has amassed 3127 runs at an average of 32.24 with a strike rate of 127.48 during nine seasons and 115 games. After skipping a Ranji Trophy match the previous season. He lost favor with the national selectors and is currently without a central BCCI contract.

The question of whether teams can have conversations with players. While they are still under contract with a franchise is a hot topic among the teams ahead of the IPL retention. It has been related to certain individuals. The BCCI has even been made aware of this problem.

IPL

Since player agents are thought to be rather active behind the scenes. It is probable that they are conducting the discussions. They are promising and discussing astronomical amounts. However, the question still stands: how can a player be confident they will receive a sizable bid at the auction, whose dynamics are infamously uncertain?

The new RTM rule, which permits a club to increase a player’s bid to a predetermined amount only in the event that the franchise holding the RTM card exercises the option, is a likely solution. They might decide not to utilize it, which is always a possibility.

In the event that Player X enters the auction with a guaranteed INR 25 crore and the bidding ends at INR 15 crore, for instance, the rival team can only increase the price to INR 25 crore. If the original franchise chooses to exercise the RTM. In the absence of that RTM, the player might receive less than INR 15 crore. So what?

This investigation focuses on players who are assured high bids at the auction prior to the retention deadline. If not specifically one player. With ten teams and six RTMs each, there may be at least 25 RTMs at the auction, if not all 60. There is always a danger that the guarantee and pre-bid agreement will get broken.