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Aakash Chopra has said his ‘sources’ told him that KKR had a long chat with Shreyas Iyer about retention, contradictory to the Mumbaikar’s claims.
Shreyas Iyer (L) and Aakash Chopra.
Aakash Chopra has contradicted Shreyas Iyer’s claim that there was not enough communication between him and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) which led to the title-winning skipper’s release from the franchise ahead of the IPL 2025 auction.
Shreyas, in an interview with Indian Express, said he loved his time at KKR but was left ‘perplexed’ when the team didn’t make a ‘concrete effort’ to speak about retention for months. He said the ‘lack of communication’ led the parties to ‘mutually’ part ways. Punjab Kings signed him for a record fee of Rs. 26.75 crore.
“Now you start wondering. Let’s look at the past of KKR. You may like or dislike franchises. KKR have tried to maintain their core. Andre Russell or Sunil Narine have always been with KKR. The franchise bought Venkatesh Iyer in the auction when they were not able to retain him. This is a franchise that invests in relationships,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“Shreyas Iyer was the captain. He should have been in the original scheme of things. KKR did not speak to him — he has said this in an interview. I can now confirm there were discussions between KKR and Shreyas Iyer. They had a long chat. There was no agreement. That’s a separate issue,” he added.
Chopra hinted that KKR had ‘apprehensions’ about ending up at certain franchises via the auction, before cryptically adding that ‘Karma is real’.
“I am not going to spell it out. Shreyas had some apprehensions about how it goes in the auction, ‘if I end up somewhere, then what will happen’. It is interesting what has happened. Sometimes you start thinking, ‘Karma is real yaar’, you never know. I can confirm the discussions did take place. However, Shreyas says there were no discussions. There is some discrepancy. I can confirm there were talks. I, too, have my sources,” he said.
Shreyas had a trophy-full 2024 as he won the IPL, the Ranji Trophy, the Irani Cup and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Now, he was recently announced as PBKS’ captain and will have the huge task to lead one of the most unsuccessful franchises in the IPL close to its first title.
