The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have made strategic decisions regarding their retention list for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season. While they opted not to retain captain Shreyas Iyer, KKR has chosen to keep a core group of players who were vital in securing their third IPL title earlier this year. Leading the retention list is middle-order batter Rinku Singh, retained for Rs 13 crore. Additionally, the team has retained veteran West Indian all-rounders Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, reflecting their commitment to maintaining a strong and experienced squad.
In a calculated move, KKR has utilized all six retention slots allowed by the IPL Governing Council, meaning they will not have any Right To Match (RTM) cards available during the upcoming mega auction, similar to the situation faced by the Rajasthan Royals, the inaugural IPL champions.
Despite investing Rs 12 crore in Russell, Narine, and Varun Chakravarthy, as well as Rs 4 crore each in Nitish Rana and Ramandeep Singh, KKR now finds themselves with Rs 51 crore remaining from their total auction purse of Rs 120 crore. This is a deviation from the expected Rs 63 crore, raising questions among fans and analysts alike, but KKR’s management remains confident in their retention strategy moving forward.
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So, what accounts for the Rs 69 crore deduction from KKR’s auction purse?
According to the new retention rules announced by the IPL in late September, franchises incur fixed deductions based on the number of retained players. They face a deduction of Rs 18 crore for their first and fourth capped players, Rs 14 crore for their second and fifth retentions, and Rs 11 crore for the third capped player. Uncapped players incur a deduction of Rs 4 crore each.
By retaining four capped players and two uncapped players, KKR has incurred a total deduction of Rs 69 crore as per the franchise rules, despite spending less than that amount in actual retention costs.