Overview
- Aaron Finch publicly advised Kolkata Knight Riders to release Venkatesh Iyer and Andre Russell, though he said the team would never let Russell go and could only hope for a strong trade value.
- Aakash Chopra argued that cutting Venkatesh Iyer would unlock Rs 23.75 crore in purse space, framing him as KKR’s biggest potential release before the deadline.
- KKR CEO Venky Mysore denied that the franchise follows a buy-to-release strategy, pushing back on media narratives that the club cycles players to re-sign them cheaper.
- Reports citing ESPNcricinfo suggested KKR could free funds by releasing multiple players, potentially entering the mini-auction with roughly INR 40 crore, a scenario not confirmed by the team.
- The debate follows KKR’s eighth-place finish in IPL 2025, with Russell managing 167 runs and eight wickets and Iyer totaling about 142 runs, as the auction window is reported for mid-December in Abu Dhabi.