Former India player RP Singh said that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) might not consider Mitchell Starc as a potential retention option before the IPL 2025 auction. He also added that the Australian seamer predominantly had a poor run in IPL 2024 and hasn’t been too impressive in international cricket after that as well. Notably, KKR acquired Starc for a massive ₹24.75 crore at the IPL 2024 auction as well.
He picked up 17 wickets in 13 innings during the season but gave away an average of 10.61 runs per over as well.
During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, RP Singh said, “They will not have the temptation of Mitchell Starc, that’s what I feel, because even last year, he made an impact only in the big matches, and his recent performances have not been that good as well. So I don’t feel KKR will think about Mitchell Starc.”
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He also doesn’t see KKR retaining Nitish Rana either. Rana cled KKR in IPL 2023 in Shreyas Iyer’s absence. He could play only two games this year due to an injury suffered while fielding, aggregating 42 runs at a strike rate of 123.52 as well.
“If I tell my five or six players here, Aakash bhai (Chopra) spoke about Nitish Rana but his recent performance has not been that good. He can be a good option as a left-handed batter but I don’t think they will go with him,” RP Singh added.
He also opined that Shreyas Iyer, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell will be four of the five capped retentions for the Kolkata Knight Riders as well. He added that the franchise might choose Venkatesh Iyer ahead of Rinku Singh as the fifth capped retention as well.
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“The captain will remain with them. Along with Varun Chakaravarthy, they will have Sunil Narine, Andre Russell and Rinku Singh. I will not leave Rinku Singh but I feel the franchise might be considering Venkatesh Iyer better. Both players are with them for a long time. I will go with Rinku Singh but the franchise might think differently. These are my players. Among the uncapped players, no special name is being seen, whom you can keep,” RP Singh concluded.
