Had locked himself in the washroom… Shreyas Iyer spoke for the first time on the bid of Rs 26.75 crore and ‘cheating’ of KKR – shreyas iyer breaks silence on ipl retention and exit from kkr

Mega auctions were held for IPL 2025 in November last year. Before that there was talk that Kolkata Knight Riders would retain their champion captain Shreyas Iyer, but it did not happen. Shreyas Iyer, who won KKR its first trophy after 10 years, was released. In the auction held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Punjab Kings bought him with a huge bid of Rs 26.75 crore. Now, for the first time, Iyer has broken his silence on not being retained by KKR. After making the final under the captaincy of Eoin Morgan in 2021, KKR finished seventh in both the consecutive seasons. Iyer could not play in the 2023 edition of IPL due to a back injury. However, not only did he return to the franchise the next year but along with new mentor Gautam Gambhir, he also led the team to its third title.

Speaking to The Indian Express at the Idea Exchange, Shreyas Iyer admitted that he was confident that he would be retained. Especially when the franchise talked about retention right after the season ended. However, he was surprised when KKR did not make any such efforts after that.

Shreyas Iyer said, ‘It was definitely a great time for me in winning the championship at KKR. I loved every moment I spent there, so obviously we talked directly after the IPL Championship. But nothing became clear after this. I was not even approached by them. No concrete effort was made. I was confused as to what was going on, so due to lack of communication we ended up in a situation where we mutually separated.

After the start of the mega auction, for some time Shreyas Iyer also became the most expensive player in IPL history. Punjab Kings bought him for Rs 26.75, after which Lucknow Super Giants wrote a new chapter by buying Rishabh Pant for Rs 27 crore. Shreyas Iyer was in Hyderabad during the auction. He said, ‘I was watching it from my room in Hyderabad and I was expecting a good amount, but I never thought that there would be so much competition for me between two teams. Overall I was thrilled. After a point I closed the door and went to the washroom. I felt like I didn’t want to hear what was happening.