Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) entered the IPL 2025 auction with a remaining purse of ₹51 crore, retaining six core players: Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana, and Ramandeep Singh. With no Right-to-Match (RTM) card, KKR aimed for cost-effective yet impactful players to complement their existing lineup.

Venkatesh Iyer becomes highest paid all rounder in IPL

On Day 1 of the auction, KKR made a massive splash by acquiring their veteran player Venkatesh Iyer for ₹23.75 crore. He will be going back to the defending champions of the IPL, but not without a fierce bidding war between three teams.

KKR was certainly the first of the lot to bid for their player who’s input was immense in their title run. But they faced great resistance from Lucknow Super Giants and later Royal Challengers Bengaluru that saw the price surge up to over 20 crores in no time. However, the Bengal team were persistent and reaped the reward in the form of buying back their player for a sum of 23.75 crores.

Additionally, the franchise brought back Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Angkrish Raghuvanshi, two nurtured talents from their setup.

Day 2 saw KKR utilizing their ₹10.05 crore wisely, focusing on all-rounders and bolstering their bowling unit. Notable additions include Rovman Powell and Australian pacer Spencer Johnson. Manish Pandey’s return to KKR further enhances their batting depth.

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IPL 2024 champions Kolkata Knight Riders focus on all-round strength

The franchise concluded the IPL auction with a balanced squad of 21 players, featuring 13 Indians and 8 overseas stars. Key players like Anrich Nortje, Moeen Ali, and Ajinkya Rahane will don the purple jersey, alongside emerging talents such as Vaibhav Arora and Mayank Markande. Despite limited resources, KKR wrapped up with a modest ₹0.05 crore remaining in their purse.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Full Squad for IPL 2025 

Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh, Venkatesh Iyer (Rs. 23.75 crore), Quinton de Kock (Rs. 3.60 crore), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Rs. 2 crore), Anrich Nortje (Rs. 6.50 crore), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (Rs. 3 crore), Vaibhav Arora (Rs. 1.80 crore), Mayank Markande (Rs. 30 lakh), Rovman Powell (Rs. 1.50 crore), Manish Pandey (Rs. 75 lakh), Spencer Johnson (Rs. 2.80 crore), Luvnith Sisodia (Rs. 30 lakh), Ajinkya Rahane (Rs. 1.50 lakh), Anukul Roy (Rs. 40 lakh), Moeen Ali (Rs. 2 crore), Umran Malik (Rs. 75 lakh).