While the individual amounts for each of KKR’s likely retentions are not yet known, they will lose at least INR 47 crore for four players (including one uncapped) or INR 51 crore for five players (including two uncapped).

The big development in the KKR camp is the possible release of Iyer, their captain, and Russell, who has been with them since IPL 2014. Iyer was their most expensive purchase at the 2022 mega auction (INR 12.25 crore – $1.633 million approx. at the time) when KKR were on the hunt for a new captain. Russell had been retained for INR 12 crore ahead of that auction.

Iyer led KKR to the IPL title in the 2024 season, scoring 351 runs at a strike rate of nearly 147, their first triumph since 2014. While he will be optimistic about attracting sizeable bids at the mega auction considering a few franchises might need a captain and a top Indian batter, Russell will also be a huge draw. He scored 222 runs at a strike rate of 185 last season and took 19 wickets, three of which came in the IPL final.

Among the players retained, Narine, Rinku and Varun have all played vital roles for KKR over the last few seasons. Narine, who was retained for INR 6 crore ($722,000 approx. then) in 2022, was the Most Valuable Player in 2024 for his explosiveness at the top of the order and his 17 wickets at an economy rate of 6.69. Varun, who joined the franchise in 2020 and was retained in 2022 for INR 8 crore ($1.066 million approx. then), has 41 wickets (8.09 economy) in the last two seasons, the most by any bowler. Rinku, whose IPL performances catapulted him into the India T20I team, has a strike rate of 207.97 since 2022.

Rana is emerging as promising fast bowler and is part of India’s Test squad for the upcoming tour of Australia, while Ramandeep’s IPL and domestic performances earned him a spot in India’s squad for the recent Emerging Players Asia Cup in Oman.