Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is a franchise cricket team based in Kolkata that competes in the Indian Premier League. The team is jointly owned by film industry personalities Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla, along with her husband, Jay Mehta. They won their first IPL title in 2012 against Chennai Super Kings and secured another in 2014 by defeating Kings XI Punjab. In 2024, they became champions for the third time by beating Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Knights also holds the record for the longest winning streak in IPL history, with 14 consecutive victories.
List of KKR's retained players in 2025
Ahead of the IPL 2025 season, the Kolkata Knight Riders confirmed their core squad by retaining six key players, as confirmed by IPL's official X account. Middle-order batter Rinku Singh topped the list with a retention value of INR 13 crores, while mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy and star all-rounder Sunil Narine followed closely at INR 12 crores each. Explosive all-rounder Andre Russell also remained with the franchise for INR 12 crores. Meanwhile, pacer Harshit Rana and batter Ramandeep Singh rounded out the group, both secured for INR 4 crores.
| Player Name | Country | Role | IPL Salary |
| Rinku Singh | India | Middle-order Batter | INR 13 crores |
| Varun Charkarvathy | India | Bowler | INR 12 crores |
| Sunil Narine | West Indies | Bowling All-rounder | INR 12 crores |
| Andre Russell | West Indies | All-rounder | INR 12 crores |
| Harshit Rana | India | Bowler | INR 4 crores |
| Ramandeep Singh | India | Middle- order Batter | INR 4 crores |
KKR's released players
The Kolkata Knight Riders retained their main squad and released several players before the IPL 2025 mega auction, as per Olympics' official website. The franchise parted ways with 17 players, including Shreyas Iyer, who led the team to the IPL 2024 title, while keeping only six for the next season.
| Released Players |
| Shreyas Iyer |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz |
| Nitish Rana |
| Sherfane Rutherford |
| Phil Salt |
| KS Bharat |
| Manish Pandey |
| Angkrish Raghuvanshi |
| Anukul Roy |
| Venkatesh Iyer |
| Suyash Sharma |
| Allah Ghazanfar |
| Dushmantha Chameera |
| Sakib Hussain |
| Vaibhav Arora |
| Mitchell Starc |
| Chetan Sakariya |
KKR's remaining purse for IPL auction
According to IPL's official website, the Kolkata Knight Riders entered the IPL 2025 mega auction with a purse of INR 51 crores. The team did not have the option to use the Right-to-Match (RTM) card. However, during the auction, they bought back Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Vaibhav Arora, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Anukul Roy, and Venkatesh Iyer. All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer became KKR's most expensive buy, costing them INR 23.75 crore.
FAQs on KKR Retained Players 2025
A. The Kolkata Knight Riders retained six players ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
A. The Kolkata Knight Riders have retained middle-order batter Rinku Singh, mystery spinners Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine, all-rounder Andre Russell, uncapped pacer Harshit Rana and an uncapped middle-order batter Ramandeep Singh for INR 4 crores each.
A. The Kolkata Knight Riders retained Rinku Singh for INR 13 crores, Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine for 12 crores each, Andre Russell for INR 12 crores, Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh for INR 4 crores each.
A. The Kolkata Knight Riders released a total of 17 players ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
A. The Kolkata Knight Riders had a remaining purse of INR 51 crores for the IPL 2025 mega auction after retaining six players for the 18th edition of the tournament.
