'Find Shreyas Iyer after this season': Fans say KKR fumbled in auctions, question INR 23.75 cr gamble on Venkatesh Iyer

Kolkata Knight Riders, the defending champions, have suffered two major defeats in the Indian Premier League 2025. After losing the season opener to RCB at their home ground, Eden Gardens, the franchise faced another setback on March 31, losing to the Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium. However, it's not just the losses that have fans concerned; it's the margin of defeat that has raised serious questions. Fans and analysts alike are now questioning the management's decision to make costly purchases, particularly that of Venkatesh Iyer, during the auction.

Fans question KKR's INR 23.75 cr gamble on Venkatesh Iyer

At INR 23.75 cr, Venkatesh Iyer was one of the top three costliest purchases of IPL 2025, following only Lucknow Super Giants' Rishabh Pant (INR 27.00 cr) and Punjab Kings' Shreyas Iyer (INR 26.75 cr). In a bold move, KKR decided to let go of last year¡¯s winning captain, Shreyas Iyer, to place their trust in Venkatesh. However, so far, the decision hasn't paid off, as Iyer has struggled in the first three games of the season.

Venkatesh Iyer's poor form in IPL 2025

Venkatesh Iyer's performance in IPL 2025 has been a major concern for the team so far. He scored just 6 off 7 balls against RCB and 3 off 9 balls against the Mumbai Indians, showing little impact with the bat. He didn¡¯t get the opportunity to bat in KKR¡¯s only win of the season so far, against the Rajasthan Royals.

Did KKR lose this IPL season in the auction itself?

After the defending champions' underwhelming performance in the initial games of IPL 2025, fans are questioning KKR's decision to let go of their successful captain, Shreyas Iyer, and bring Venkatesh Iyer on board.

With Venkatesh failing to make an impact in the early matches, some fans are even suggesting that KKR should bring Shreyas back into the fold, drawing comparisons to the Mumbai Indians' decision to bring in Hardik Pandya after the Gujarat Titans' success.

On the Reddit subreddit r/ipl, fans have been heavily Shah Rukh Khan's team's purchases this season, with many concluding that their biggest gamble, Venkatesh Iyer, isn't adding much value to the team.

One user summed it up by writing, "23 crores for V Iyer was the biggest wtf. Dude doesn't bowl, dude doesn't captain, and dude barely bats well."

Another wrote, "KKR need to do what MI did with Hardik and Gujarat. Find Shreyas after the season, get down on your knees, beg, plead, tell him Jay Mehta will transfer his shares, buy him the Burj Khalifa if he wants, but just get him back."

"They could've easily bought salt and starc instead of Veky Iyer. They fumbled hard in auctions," another user added.

One Redditor reasoned, "Absolutely brain dead by KKR, but hey, let's not blame Iyer here; a player can also get out of form. At the end of the day, he didn't ask for that price."

Meanwhile, some fans were also appalled by the franchise's decision to let go of Subhman Gill, who made his T20 debut with KKR in 2018.

"Totally agreed; somehow they let it go, Gill. What's the point of investing in a young gun when there is no proper backing by KKR management?" commented one Redditor.

Check out more comments in the Reddit thread below:

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