Mitchell Starc on being released by KKR ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction: 'I still haven't heard from them'

Mitchell Starc was one of the biggest names released by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction, but the Australia pacer has not yet heard from the franchise ever since. KKR announced the list of players retained for the 2025 season on 31 October, which was the deadline for all franchises to submit their player retention names.

Rinku Singh (Rs 13 crore), Varun Chakravarthy (Rs 12 crore), Sunil Narine (Rs 12 crore), Andre Russell (Rs 12 crore), Harshit Rana (Rs 4 crore) and Ramandeep Singh (Rs 4 crore) were among the names retained by KKR but Starc and their title-winning skipper Shreyas Iyer were surprise omissions.

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“I still haven’t heard from them (KKR), It is what it is, that’s franchise cricket, so all barring the Hyderabad boys (Cummins & Head) will be in the auction,” Starc was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph.

According to a report in the Times of India, KKR CEO Venky Mysore had been approached for a comment. However, he did not respond to the text message and even reportedly blocked the contact.

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At the IPL 2024 auction last year, Starc became the costliest player in the history of KKR after KKR acquired him for Rs 24.75 crore. He picked 17 wickets from 14 matches in IPL 2024.

Shreyas Iyer non-retention dilemma

The report adds that Shreyas Iyer had a discussion with KKR on his possible retention on 27 October. However, a source in the know of developments said that the “two parties had never spoken”.

“As of last Friday, the two parties hadn’t spoken. There was lot of word going around on Shreyas Iyer and KKR but the two never sat across the table to have any discussion with regards to the plans for future or the IPL retentions. The first conversation happened on Sunday,” the source told Times of India.

Venky Mysore, however, said that he did have conversations with the players who were not retained. “First and foremost, I think our approach has always been to maintain transparency and have proper conversations with everyone. I’ve not only had conversations with the six we have retained, but I have also engaged in conversations with the ones we couldn’t retain. Obviously I am aware of some of the narratives that have been going around. It’s sufficient to say that, we always engage in talks with everyone and most people understand our position,” he told KKR.in.

Shreyas Iyer led KKR from the front in IPL 2024, helping them clinch their third title after they defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by eight wickets in the final in May. The IPL 2025 mega auction is reportedly set to take place in Riyadh on 24 and 25 November.