Mon Nov 25 02:56:12 UTC 2024: ## KKR Splurges ₹23.75 Crore on Venkatesh Iyer in IPL 2025 Auction

**Jeddah, Saudi Arabia:** Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made a significant splash at the IPL 2025 mega auction, shelling out a staggering ₹23.75 crore for Venkatesh Iyer. The three-time IPL winners, who had retained six players – Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, and Ramandeep Singh – prior to the auction, opted not to retain their captain, Shreyas Iyer.

Despite retaining a strong core, KKR entered the auction with a purse of ₹51 crore and no Right to Match (RTM) cards. Their aggressive bidding saw them acquire Iyer from a base price of ₹2 crore, alongside wicketkeeper-batters Quinton de Kock (₹3.6 crore) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (₹2 crore). Further bolstering their squad, KKR also secured Angkrish Raghuvanshi (₹3 crore), Mayank Markande (₹30 lakh), Anrich Nortje (₹6.5 crore), and Vaibhav Arora (₹1.8 crore).

The final KKR squad boasts a formidable combination of retained stars and exciting new acquisitions. The team will be looking to defend their title with this strengthened lineup.

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