Shreyas Iyer To Return To DC? Franchise Owners' Big Promise Revealed

Shreyas Iyer's Indian Premier League (IPL) future is up in the air, having chosen to enter the auction instead of being retained by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), as revealed by their CEO Venky Mysore. Iyer will be a heavily sought-after player, as not only a highly-regarded middle-order batter, but also the pedigree of captaining a side to IPL glory. In fact, reports state that Iyer's biggest suitor may be his former franchise Delhi Capitals (DC), whom he led to an IPL final in 2020.

Big changes are afoot at DC, who have released Rishabh Pant prior to the IPL 2025 mega auction. Now, a report by PTI states that DC co-owners GMR Group are interested in bringing Iyer back to Delhi Capitals, and have even promised him captaincy, according to an IPL franchise official.

At Rs 73 crore, Delhi Capitals have the third-highest auction purse, meaning they can spend big on Iyer if need be.

Iyer led KKR to a dominant IPL 2024 title, but KKR CEO Venky Mysore revealed that a mutual agreement could not be reached between the player and the franchise. Iyer has decided to test his value in the auction, said Mysore.

"There won't be too many teams that would want Iyer the T20 batter but just to ensure DC spends a bomb on a player, they might engage in a bidding war for Iyer," an IPL franchise official told PTI.

PTI's report further states that KL Rahul could be considered by former franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), even as a potential captaincy option.

On the other hand, Arshdeep Singh could be retained via the Right to Match (RTM) card by Punjab Kings if his value stays below Rs 20 cr. Wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan is reportedly in Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) radar, as they seek a replacement for KL Rahul.