'Will Be Difficult': Ex-KKR Star Predicts Defending Champ's Retentions, Elects Salt, Narine & More

The IPL 2025 Retention buzz has taken over the minds of Indian Cricket fans as all eyes are upon the franchisees who are seeking to retain their core players ahead of the mega auction for the upcoming IPL season. As the buzz continues to grow, a former India cricketer has expressed his thoughts on the probable retention list for the Kolkata Knight Riders .

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Former India Star Predicts Kolkata Knight Riders' Retentions Ahead Of IPL Mega Auction

While speaking in an exclusive interview with Star Sports, Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh opened up on the Kolkata Knight Riders' list of retentions ahead of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction. The former franchise star explained that it would be difficult for them to let go of the players as they had a dominant season in the IPL 2024 season. He elected his choice of retained KKR players, which includes Shreyas Iyer, Phil Salt, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, and more.

"KKR dominated the entire season, so it will be difficult for them to leave or retain anyone. But it's a matter of retention, so you only have limited numbers that you can retain. If I want to see or if I have to choose my 6 players, which 6 players will be there for KKR? I think Shreyas Iyer will be there, Phil Salt will be there, Narine will be there, Andre Russell will be there, Rinku Singh will be there. I will definitely want to see Rinku Singh. He should be the 5th player to be retained.

And if we talk about one more player, who is the last player to be retained? It could be Ramandeep Singh. He is an uncapped player. I think he should be retained. He played very well last year and I have seen his performance in domestic cricket this year as well. So I think this 6th player, Knight Rider, will be retained," Harbhajan Singh said.

Also Read: IPL 2025 Mega Auction Probable Retention List For MI, CSK, KKR, RCB, SRH, DC, LSG, GT, RR, PBKS

The Kolkata Knight Riders were supremely dominant in the IPL 2024 season and reigned supreme in the Points Table. Apart from the Sunrisers Hyderabad , the Shreyas Iyer-led side was utterly supreme as their all-around performance helped them clinch the IPL 2024 title to make them the three-time champions. Gautam Gambhir also played a pivotal role as the mentor, who now leads the Indian Men's National Cricket Team.