‘It’d be a real loss’ to Kolkata Knight Riders says Irfan Pathan if they won’t retain Shreyas Iyer | Cricket News
Kolkata Knight Riders have won their first Indian Premier League Trophy after 10 years in 2024. However, The Indian Express has earlier reported that the franchise and skipper Shreyas Iyer who led them to the glory have not found a middle ground and hence the 29-year-old will not be retained.
“If Shreyas Iyer isn’t retained after leading the team to an IPL title, it’d be a real loss,” reacted former Indian cricketer on X(Formerly known as Twitter). Iyer has been bought KKR franchise for 12.25 crores in 2022. However, he missed the entire 2023 season due to an injury and was back in the side in 2024. Under his leadership, the franchise finished seventh in 2022 and was champion in 2024.
On the other hand, there has been also speculation about whether Rishabh Pant would be retained Delhi Capitals. “Hoping Delhi also works to keep Rishabh Pant—his potential as both a player and captain, along with his market value, is massive,” Pathan wrote.
Pant was made the captain of Capitals in 2022 and the wicket-keeper batter too missed the 2023 season due to an injury however he returned in 2024. While he has had mixed results with the bat since making captain, the side struggled under his leadership in two seasons to make it into the payoffs.
Will Pant go to CSK?
The Indian Express understands that Chennai Super Kings is keen on bringing Rishabh Pant to the MA Chidambaram Stadium — and are working on their retention strategy accordingly. As things stand, CSK is certain to retain captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, Matheesha Pathirana and Dhoni. Whether they do likewise with Ravindra Jadeja would depend on how things unfold till the retention deadline.
CSK is aware that if Pant comes into the auction pool, they have to set aside a huge chunk of their purse for him, maybe in excess of Rs 20 crore. Hence, they are pondering ways to go with a significant auction purse. Towards that endeavour, they might release Jadeja into the auction pool and buy him back using the Right to Match(RTM)option.
