NEW DELHI: Three-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) didn’t use the Proper to Match (RTM) card for Shreyas Iyer throughout the IPL 2025 public sale.
This determination stems from their earlier technique of retaining gamers, which restricted their capability to train RTM rights. In keeping with the IPL guidelines, groups can both retain a most of six gamers or have six RTM choices.If a staff retains fewer gamers, the variety of RTMs will increase.
KKR had already utilized their retention slots for key gamers, reminiscent of Rinku Singh (Rs 13 crore), Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, and Andre Russell (Rs 12 crore every), Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh (Rs four crore every).
Consequently, KKR have been left with out the choice to train RTM for Iyer, despite the fact that they’d have favored to maintain him within the squad.
Iyer, who had been integral to KKR’s title win in 2024 and beforehand led Delhi Capitals to the playoffs, was one of the sought-after gamers within the public sale.
His base value was set at Rs 2 crore, however the bidding shortly escalated. Punjab Kings (PBKS) emerged as the very best bidder, securing him for Rs 26.75 crore, narrowly edging out Delhi Capitals (DC), who bid Rs 26.50 crore.
Although KKR didn’t use the RTM card, it’s clear they valued Iyer extremely. Nevertheless, they seemingly confronted price range constraints or prioritized different gamers, contemplating the bigger steadiness of their squad.
Iyer’s departure was a major loss for KKR, nevertheless it additionally highlighted the complexities of IPL’s retention and public sale technique.
On this case, KKR’s earlier retention selections and the fierce competitors for Iyer finally led to them lacking out on their star participant, with PBKS gaining a serious addition to their squad.
