KKR to Retain Venkatesh Iyer for ₹23.75 Crore, CEO Venky Mysore Shocks Fans

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are backing their key players for IPL 2026, and IPL 2026 retentions are right around the corner. KKR has a history of releasing players and then re-signing them to save money in the auction play, but that plan didn't work as expected for them in IPL 2025.

Last season, KKR had kept hold of all of their key Indian players in Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, and Ramandeep Singh; however, the biggest surprise in the auction was to go all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, who was instrumental in KKR's win of the 2024 IPL. KKR hypothesized to re-sign Iyer for less after the auction, but given his good track record prior, it led to a bidding war, and KKR had to pay ₹23.75 crore for him. KKR also re-signed Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Vaibhav Arora.

In hindsight, Venkatesh Iyer did not do well in IPL 2025. He only made 142 runs in 11 matches, which disappointed fans, so much so that rumors had surfaced indicating KKR would consider letting Iyer go before IPL 2026. KKR CEO Venky Mysore responded to the claims by stating this was not true and that KKR focuses on long-term plans. It feels likely Iyer will be kept for ₹23.75 crore despite a poor season. For ipl 2026 KKR reatin their core players and go for ipl 2026 mini auction.

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