Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have finalized their list of retained players for IPL 2025, choosing to hold on to six key players ahead of the mega auction. However, fans were stunned to see Shreyas Iyer, the skipper who led KKR to a long-awaited IPL title victory after a decade, absent from that list. Also Read: IPL 2025 Full List of Retained and Released Players Iyer returned to captain KKR last season after missing IPL 2023 due to a back injury. He managed to score 351 runs in 14 games at an impressive strike rate of 146.86, hitting 34 fours and 14 sixes. Under the guidance of Gautam Gambhir and Chandrakanth Pandit, Iyer successfully brought out the best in a star-studded squad. In an unexpected twist, KKR instead retained Rinku Singh (INR 13 Crore), Varun Chakravarthy (INR 12 Crore), Sunil Narine (INR 12 Crore), Andre Russell (INR 12 Crore), Harshit Rana (INR 4 Crore), and Ramandeep Singh (INR 4 Crore). This retention, costing KKR INR 57 Crore, leaves them with INR 63 Crore to spend at the auction. Reports suggest that Iyer’s omission stemmed from his unusual demand, a price the franchise felt unable to meet, ultimately leading to their decision not to retain him. This development has left fans speculating about Iyer’s next move. It is now confirmed that the former KKR skipper is going to the mega auction table. Following his release from his franchise, Shreyas Iyer is set to join Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul in the highly anticipated IPL 2025 mega auction. Both Pant, previously with the Delhi Capitals, and Rahul, from the Lucknow Super Giants, were left out of their respective teams' retention lists, making them available for bidding. The trio of Pant, Rahul, and Iyer will be among the most demanded players in the auction lineup.