Kolkata Knight Riders deservedly won IPL 2024. There is a Mega Auction before the next season. This is bad news for KKR because they may not get to retain all of their players. However, there is also the case of certain players not wanting to get retained by KKR. This could happen due to various reasons. On that note, here, we take a look at the list of two KKR players who could decline retention before IPL 2025.
1) Phil Salt
Phil Salt played for a salary near to his base price in IPL 2024. He came in as the replacement for Jason Roy. Even if KKR retains him, it would be at a low price because there are others ahead of him in the pecking order.
Salt is an excellent opener and is also a good wicket-keeper. There would be a number of teams that could target him at the auctions. There is a chance that he could go for a very high sum. Hence, Salt might not want to restrict his salary by accepting KKR’s retention. This is why he might want to go under the hammer.
2) Mitchell Starc
Mitchell Starc is one of the KKR players who could decline retention before IPL 2025. There are a couple of reasons why Starc may not accept KKR’s retention. First could be the salary, which will go down compared to the INR 24 Cr that he got for IPL 2025. With retention, surely, KKR may not be able to afford such a big amount.
On the other hand, Starc might not guarantee a presence for successive seasons of the IPL. This has been the case for a few seasons now. Hence, Starc might himself pull out of retention. Anyways, KKR might not risk Starc’s retention but seeing his performance in the knockout games, it would be tempting to have him for a few more seasons.
