Former India National Cricket Team player Sunil Gavaskar feels the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) might look to bring back Shreyas Iyer at the IPL 2025 mega auction. He noted that the three-time champions might not have been able to retain him due to a retention price issue.

KKR retained Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh ahead of the auction. They have a purse of INR 51 crore to complete their team for the 18th season.

“Shreyas Iyer led KKR to their third title last season and the franchise might go for his name in the auction. Delhi Capitals will also be intrested in him,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

Shreyas amassed 351 runs at a strike rate of 146.86 in 14 innings for the Knight Riders in the previous season. He was the captain of DC when they made it to the final of IPL 2020.

Gavaskar opined that the Delhi Capitals are likely to use the Right to Match card for Rishabh Pant. The southpaw accumulated 446 runs at a strike rate of 155.40 in 13 innings in IPL 2024.

“Delhi are likely to buy him as they also need a captain. Delhi will use RTM for him at the auction,” he added.

The cricketer-turned-commentator mentioned that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are interested in KL Rahul.

“RCB and CSK will definitely try to get KL Rahul. These two southern franchises need a player like him,” he concluded.

Lucknow Super Giants released Rahul. He managed 520 runs at a strike rate of 136.12 in 14 innings in IPL 2024.