The challenge of holding a mega auction immediately after winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) title is that it forces a team to part ways with several players from the championship squad. This situation has arisen for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the IPL 2024 champions. Although they managed to retain six key players, KKR had to say goodbye to notable names like Mitchell Starc, Nitish Rana, and Venkatesh Iyer. The latter, who has been with the franchise since 2021, became emotional after not being retained.
“In the case of KKR, it’s like a complete family. It’s not just about the 16, 20, or 25 players, but also the management, the staff, and everyone behind the scenes. There’s so much emotion attached to this that it makes me a bit teary-eyed to see my name not on the retention list,” Iyer expressed to RevSportz.
Recalling his initial auction experience, he added, “Because there is no video of KKR bidding for me during my first auction, this time around, I will be sitting like an excited kid, hoping to see if KKR raises the paddle for me. If they do, it would mean the world to me.”
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Venkatesh has been a vital part of KKR over the past four IPL seasons, playing a crucial role in their journey to the final in 2021 and helping them lift the trophy in 2024, even hitting the winning runs in the final. While he emphasized the emotional bond and family atmosphere at KKR, he acknowledged the team’s strong retention decisions.
“Honestly, as someone who analyzes cricket, I believe KKR has made excellent retention choices. They’ve secured 14-16 overs with the ball and covered five positions with the bat,” he noted.
“I would have loved to be on the retention list. KKR gave me my big break, and I’ve given everything for them,” he added shortly after.
During the second half of IPL 2024, Venkatesh excelled, scoring four fifties and accumulating 370 runs at an impressive strike rate of 158.80.
Despite not being retained, he remains optimistic about the future, stating, “The doors are open, and if I have a good auction, I might still end up playing for the team I love the most.”