The Indian Premier League 2025 mega auction is around the corner, and all eyes will be on Shreyas Iyer, who led the Kolkata Knight Riders to a title win last season. KKR releasing their title-winning captain Iyer, ahead of the auction was one of the talking points in the retentions. According to CEO Venky Mysore, Shreyas and KKR weren't aligned in their vision, and the franchise made its priorities clear in the retention list. Now, the 29-year-old could be a hot prospect for franchises in search of a captain - especially those who have yet to win the title.

The stylish batter has been out-of-favour in India's T20I set-up, but he still remains one of the most dependable players in the format, with captaincy adding more value to his game.

Batting great Sunil Gavaskar has made a bold prediction that defending champions KKR will bid for Iyer once again in the mega auction, and if they don't, then Delhi Capitals will surely go all out on him to acquire his services.

"When KKR won last year (IPL 2024), Shreyas Iyer was the captain. As I said earlier for Rishabh Pant as well, at times, there could be a disagreement on the fees. However, I also feel once Shreyas Iyer comes into the auction, KKR might also bid for his services. If KKR don't bid, I feel Delhi will do that," the former India captain said on Star Sports.

KKR retained Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Varun Chakravarthy ahead of the mega auction in Jeddah. Meanwhile, a new face - Dwayne Bravo will be seen on the KKR table at the auction table. The 40-year-old has replaced Gautam Gambhir as the franchise mentor after the latter left the role to take over as India's head coach earlier this year.

Delhi Capitals wants a captain and Shreyas Iyer fits the position

Gavaskar feels that there will be a toss-up in the Capitals' management mind about getting Iyer in the auction or bringing their last season's skipper Rishabh Pant back via RTM card.

"Delhi will want him because they will also need to find a captain if Rishabh Pant isn't in their team. So I feel Delhi will definitely try to use the RTM card or bring Rishabh Pant back into their team at the auction," he said.

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