Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made a shocking call before the IPL 2025 mega-auction and released Shreyas Iyer. Shreyas ended KKR's title drought and led them to their first IPL title win, since 2014, in 2024. They weren't eager to pay him for a high amount and stopped bidding when his price touched the 10-crore mark. He joined Punjab Kings for 26.75 crore.

Former KKR vice-captain, Robin Uthappa, has made big claim and opined that Shreyas felt underappreciated at KKR. "Shreyas has always been an exceptional captain. You always sensed that he felt underappreciated at KKR despite adding value there," Uthappa said no Jio Hotstart.

"He moved to a franchise where not much had been achieved historically, and then went on to win it for them. That says a lot about his leadership and belief," he added.

Shreyas joined KKR in the IPL 2022 mega-auction and stayed with them till 2024. KKR couldn't make it to the second round of IPL 2022 while they crashed out of IPL 2023 early. Nitish Rana led KKR in that season in Shreyas' absence.

Shreyas made his return as captain for IPL 2024 while Nitish was appointed his deputy. KKR finished at the top spot in the IPL 2024 points table and went on to win the trophy. They failed to qualify for the second round of the ongoing IPL season under Ajinkya Rahane's captaincy.

Apart from a new captain, KKR also had a new coaching staff in IPL 2025. Gautam Gambhir, Ryan ten Doeschate and Abhishek Nayar joined Team India's coaching staff after IPL 2024. The BCCI sacked Abhishek in April and he returned to KKR in the season.

Shreyas, who is leading Punjab Kings (PBKS) in IPL 2025, has continued his purple patch and propelled the team to the second round of IPL after 11 years. PBKS will play their first qualifier of the season on May 29. They will qualify for the final if they win the all-important fixture.

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