Kolkata Knight Riders did not include Venkatesh Iyer in their retention, even though the all-rounder has played an important role for the team in the last three seasons, especially in 2024. He scored 370 runs in 15 matches last season, in which Shreyas Iyer’s team won the title. KKR defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final.

At the same time, before the 2025 season, KKR released some key players, because according to the rules only six players can be retained. KKR preferred Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh.

Now Venkatesh Iyer has reacted to KKR’s retention. He said that he would have liked to be in the retention list, but he understands KKR’s strategy. He described KKR as his home and favorite IPL team and expressed hope that he would play for them again in the 2025 season if selected in the auction.

KKR’s retention has been very good – Venkatesh Iyer

Speaking to RevSportz, Venkatesh said, KKR’s retention has been very good. I think he has covered 14-16 overs easily and with the bat he has covered about five positions. So, they had pretty good retention, but I would have loved to be on that list. KKR has given me a big opportunity and I have given everything for KKR and beyond cricket. There is also something called emotion.

“This is a family,” he said. There are a lot of emotions. It brings tears to my eyes to see that my name is not in the retention list, but I am a practical person. I understand how it works. I was one of the players retained in 2022 and I know how it feels to be retained and left out. So, I think KKR have done brilliantly, I am really happy about it. I would love to be there and the doors are open. If my auction goes well, I will probably play for the team I like the most.