KKR wanted Shreyas Iyer as team opener: CEO Venky Mysore

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) CEO Venky Mysore said that Shreyas Iyer is one of the best players for the team in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL). Knight Riders on Thursday named Rinku Singh (Rs 13 crore), Sunil Narine (Rs 12 crore), Andre Russell (Rs 12 crore), Varun Chakravarthy (Rs 12 crore), Harshit Rana (Rs 4 crore) and Ramandeep Singh (Rs 4 crore Rs) as their reserves for the upcoming tournament.

But Shreyas’ name did not figure in the list despite Knight Riders winning the title last year. Under his leadership was The Knights ended their 10-year wait to lift the trophy.. Mysore spoke about the factors that must come together for a team and a player to agree on the captain’s responsibilities.

“The interesting thing is that there are many aspects and forces to retention, such as play. But what’s fundamental to retention is what most people sometimes don’t understand: it’s a matter of mutual consent. This is not a unilateral right that the franchise has. The player also has to consider various factors and agree,” Mysore told Rev Sports.

“Sometimes this agreement is not reached due to various factors; money or someone wants to check its value or something else. Ultimately that also influences the decision, but in our list he was number one,” Mysore said.

“Enjoyed personal communication with him”

Back in 2022 Knights sign Shreyas for INR 12.25 crore and made him captain, replacing Eoin Morgan, who helped them to a runners-up finish in 2021. In 29 matches for KKR, Shreyas scored 752 runs at an average of 34.18 and a strike rate of 140.03, with five fifties to his name. .

“He’s the captain and we need to build on that leadership and we drafted him in 2022 specifically for that. Unfortunately, in 2023 he was injured. As soon as he returned, the captain’s armband was returned to him. He was an integral part, did an amazing job, and I enjoyed the personal interaction with him. But at the end of the day, people also have to make their own decisions and determine what is best for them and what direction they want to go in,” Mysore added.

Under Shreyas’ leadership, KKR finished at the top of the IPL 2024 table. They got the better of Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 1 and then thrashed Orange Army in the final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.