‘Letting Shreyas Iyer and Phil Salt leave...’: Anil Kumble on KKR’s IPL retention calls
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Letting Shreyas Iyer and Phil Salt leave...’: Anil Kumble on KKR’s IPL retention calls")
Shreyas Iyer and Phil Salt Photograph: (BCCI)
KKR will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against Mumbai Indians on Mar 29. After the opening match, they will play three consecutive home games at Eden Gardens in April against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants.
Former India spinner Anil Kumble believes that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made a major mistake by releasing Shreyas Iyer and Phil Salt, who were key players in their IPL 2024 title-winning team. Despite Iyer captained the team to the championship, KKR allowed him to leave and he later joined Punjab Kings and led them to their first IPL final in 2025. While, Salt moved to Royal Challengers Bengaluru and helped them win their first IPL trophy last season.
Kumble pointed out that when KKR won their third IPL title two years ago, Iyer and Salt were very important members of the squad. However, the franchise did not keep them, which showed a lack of consistency in their player retention strategy. According to him, letting both players go was a poor decision because it left the team without a captain who has already won the IPL.
“Two years ago, KKR won the IPL and lifted their third trophy. Two important cogs in that wheel were Shreyas Iyer and Phil Salt. Both played crucial roles in helping them win but KKR let both of them go. There is no consistency from them in terms of player retention. KKR took the wrong decision by letting Shreyas Iyer and Phil Salt leave and that has left them without an IPL-winning captain, Kumble said as per a JioHotstar release.
He also mentioned that Ajinkya Rahane is an experienced player who has captained Mumbai in domestic cricket and Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. However, Rahane has not yet won the IPL as a captain. Kumble added that having a captain who has already won the tournament can give a team a strong advantage and KKR lost that benefit by releasing Iyer.
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He further suggested that the franchise needs to do a better job of keeping its key players, otherwise, it may continue to struggle and will not be seen as a strong contender for the title.
“Yes, Ajinkya Rahane is an experienced campaigner. He has led Mumbai in domestic cricket and Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. But he has not lifted the IPL title as a captain yet. Having a skipper who has won the trophy gives you an advantage. KKR let go of that advantage. They need to learn how to keep hold of their key players. Otherwise, they will keep struggling and cannot be considered favourites to win the trophy,” the legendary spinner added.
KKR will begin their Indian Premier League 2026 campaign against Mumbai Indians on March 29. After the opening match, they will play three consecutive home games at Eden Gardens in April against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants.
