New Delhi: After weeks of suspense, there was some conversation between the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders And captain Shreyas Iyer. The deadline for Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises to submit their list of retained players is just a few days away (October 31) and KKR have finally contacted Iyer.
It is understood that the conversation took place over the weekend and there was no prior contact from the reigning IPL champions.
“Till last Friday, both the parties had not spoken. There was a lot of talk about Shreyas Iyer and KKR, but the two never sat down at the table to have any discussion regarding future plans or IPL retention. 1st The talks took place on Sunday,” said a source close to the development.
TimesofIndia.com had reported earlier this month that Iyer's retention was not as straightforward as many had thought. He was understood to be in the franchise's plans but not as a top retention.
However, industry sources are surprised that it took several weeks for the Kolkata unit to even initiate talks with its captain, who has naturally been approached by many franchises for the leadership role.
“Iyer won a title last season, he has been a proven leader when he successfully led Delhi Capitals. He has been a hot property in the league and it is no surprise when KKR decided to take a backseat. “Many franchises were approached when the decision was made. If he goes into the auction pool, there will be at least three franchises who would like to see him as an Indian middle-order batsman, a proven leader,” said an industry source.
KKR is one of the few franchises to have a say in the retention question, but it should come as no surprise that co-owner Shah Rukh Khan had earlier advocated for a shorter action during a meeting between top BCCI officials and the franchises . Year. KKR wanted more Right to Match (RTM) options and this could be their strategy in the upcoming mega auction as well.
With Gautam Gambhir, Ryan ten Doeschate and Abhishek Nair playing roles in the Indian cricket team, there will be new changes in KKR's backroom set-up and no clarity on captaincy means a very new-looking unit may well be on the way. Can enter the field. Next season of IPL.
Talk of retaining Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine and Harshit Rana is gaining momentum as the franchise can use the RTM card to retain Varun Chakravarthy and Venkatesh Iyer/Nitish Rana. There will also be a lot of interest in Mitchell Starc, as the fast bowler, who was bought for Rs 24.75 crore in the mini-auction last year, has performed well when it mattered most.