KKR IPL 2025 Retained & Released Players List
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is always an exciting event, and the buzz starts months before the matches begin. Right now, preparations for IPL 2025 are already in full swing. All ten teams, along with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), are getting ready for another thrilling season.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are the reigning champions, having won their third IPL title in 2024. As they look ahead to IPL 2025, KKR will aim to make smart decisions to defend their title.
However, the upcoming season will feature a big auction, where teams can only keep a few players, while the rest will be available for bidding. This means KKR has some tough choices to make. While they have many players they’d like to retain, the rules only allow them to keep a limited number.
Now, let’s take a look at which players KKR might choose to keep as they prepare for the 2025 IPL auction.
KKR IPL 2025 Retained Players list
Here are four players Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) may choose to Retained ahead of the IPL 2025 auction:
Sunil Narine
Sunil Narine was the star player for KKR in 2024. He played a big part in helping the team win their third IPL title. Narine had his best season yet, performing well with both bat and ball. He scored 488 runs at a high strike rate of 180.74, including one century and three half-centuries.
With the ball, he took 17 wickets, keeping the economy rate low at 6.69. Narine adds great balance to the team, and KKR is unlikely to let him go, as he can still play for a couple more seasons.
Andre Russell
Andre Russell is another important player for KKR. He has been their matchwinner for many years and did well again in 2024.
Russell scored 222 runs with a strike rate of 185 and also picked up 19 wickets. The West Indian all-rounder will be difficult to buy at the auction, which is why KKR will likely keep him.
Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer, the team captain, is expected to be the third player KKR retains. He led the team well in 2024 and also performed solidly with the bat. Iyer scored 351 runs with an average of 39 and a strike rate of 146.86.
KKR originally picked him for his leadership, and he has proven to be a strong captain. He will likely stay with KKR for the next season.
Varun Chakravarthy or Venkatesh Iyer
KKR will face a tough decision for their fourth retention. They will have to choose between Varun Chakravarthy and Venkatesh Iyer, both of whom contributed to KKR’s success in 2024. Varun took 19 wickets and was especially dangerous at Eden Gardens.
Venkatesh Iyer scored 370 runs with an average of 46.25 and a strike rate of 158.79. He also played key innings in important matches like the Qualifier 1 and the final. However, KKR might lean towards keeping Varun Chakravarthy to maintain a strong spin attack alongside Narine.
KKR IPL 2025 Released Players list
| Players Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Shreyas Iyer | Batter |
| Rinku Singh | Batter |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz | Batter |
| Nitish Rana | Batter |
| Sherfane Rutherford | Batter |
| Phil Salt | Wicketkeeper |
| K.S Bharat | Wicketkeeper Batter |
| Manish Pandey | Batter |
| Angkrish Raghuvanshi | Batter |
| Anukul Roy | Batting All-rounder |
| Ramandeep Singh | All-rounder |
| Suyash Sharma | Bowler |
| Allah Ghazanfar | Bowler |
| Dushmantha Chameera | Bowler |
| Sakib Hussain | Bowler |
| Harshit Rana | Bowler |
| Vaibhav Arora | Bowler |
| Mitchell Starc | Bowler |
| Chetan Sakariya | Bowler |
