Shreyas Iyer is set to leave Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as the talks with KKR management haven't gone quite right. The Mumbai batter was once the skipper of KKR but now seems to be tough negotiator. This has made the defending champions decide that he will not be on their retention list, which they need to submit to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) by Thursday evening. While KKR have the Right to Match card, that is a decision that will be taken at auction next month. Traditionally, franchises want Indian cricketers as their captaincy candidate, so Iyer will be one of the first-choice candidates for leader positions elsewhere. Rumor mills are already churning out in the IPL world that a couple of the franchises have already shown interest in him. According to reports, Iyer is asking for a higher fee from teams during the negotiation process. Normally, the player wants the highest valuation of himself but discussion with various teams of the IPL depends much on the ground value for every player. Such discussion and valuation also happen through different aspects like his health condition, his performance, and status in the international arena. The data-oriented decision making of IPL adds up a lot towards valuation. Iyer currently draws an INR 12.25 crore, which is his purchase price at the auction of 2022 during which KKR picked him. In that season, Iyer played 14 matches with an average of 30.85 with the aggregate of 401 runs. However, in this 2024 season, he had five not outs where he fetched 50 runs less at an average of 39. He missed the entire season of 2023 due to a recurrent back injury which required surgery. Overall, he has scored 3,127 runs more than over nine seasons and 115 matches at an average of 32.24 with a strike rate of 127.48. He does not have a central contract with the BCCI currently, and has since been ruled out of the Indian team since he was fallen out from the selectors books after having missed a Ranji trophy match last season. Also Read | Will Virat Kohli Lead RCB Again in IPL 2025? Here’s the Buzz Negotiations Behind Closed Doors Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) retentions, many debates are going on with regards to the capability of teams to hold talks with the players who are under contract. The BCCI is also questioning the credibility of the retention process in such regards. It seems that the negotiations are held in secret, with player agents who negotiate on the money sums involved. But still, there is one more question, how can a player be sure of a large sum of money at an auction, which is considered the most unpredictable of all? A possible answer may lie in the new RTM rule. This rule grants a franchise the right to match a player's bid up to a mutually agreed-upon amount if the franchise holding the RTM agrees to use it. For example, if the player arrives at the auction with an assurance of getting INR 25 crores, but the auctions close at INR 15 crores, then the competing team could then increase the price to INR 25 crores if the original franchise wants to exercise the RTM. If they want not to, the player may then get the lowered amount of INR 15 crores. This raises bigger questions for the players in general and not for one individual player. Many players are assured of high bids at the auction even though the retention deadline is fast approaching. There are ten teams, and each team has six RTMs, so at least 25 RTMs may come into the fray during the auction, in not all 60. The important thing to remember, though is that what is promised before the auction is not always delivered after the auction. Fans and analysts will be waiting for the next few moves by Iyer. The KKR frnachise needs a significant change as it is bound to reposition the strategies. His future is dubious as he might have to play a leadership role due to other franchises showing keen interest in him. This performance and negotiation will decide the value and future of IPL for him.