All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer felt emotional upon realizing his name was absent from Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) retention list for IPL 2025. However, he is trying to be “practical” about the situation and hopes the franchise will consider bringing him back during the auction later this month.
KKR retained Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana, and Ramandeep Singh were retained ahead of the October 31 deadline. Venkatesh, who joined KKR in 2021 and was retained over now-superstar Shubman Gill the following year, has accumulated over 1,300 runs and three wickets in 51 matches.
“This is a family,” Venkatesh told Rev Sports. “There’s so much emotion. It kind of makes me teary-eyed that my name is not on the retention list but I am a practical guy. I understand how it works. I was on the receiving end of on being one of the retentions in 2022 and I knew how it feels to be retained and to be left out as well.”
“So, I think KKR have had a great retention, really happy for that. I would love to be there and the doors are open. If I have a good auction then I might still end up playing for the team I love the most.”
Venkatesh initially made a name for himself as an opener but has gradually transitioned to the middle order in the last three editions. Beyond his raw statistics, KKR has increasingly recognized his significance in critical, high-pressure matches.
Last year, he notched half-centuries in KKR’s most challenging games, including the final, the first Qualifier, and the away league match against the Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium.
“KKR has made strong retention choices”- Venkatesh Iyer
Maintaining a blend of emotion and practicality, Venkatesh also commended KKR’s retention decisions for their balance. He stated:
“KKR has had a very good retention. I think they have covered easily 14-16 overs and with the bat, they have almost covered five positions. So, they had a great retention but I would have loved to be on that list. KKR have given me a big breakthrough and I have given everything for KKR…”
The IPL 2025 auction is expected to take place in the final week of November.
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