Suryakumar Yadav to be the new KKR captain: In a massive development regarding the IPL 2025 season, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are reportedly planning on initiating talks of an unexpected trade of their captain Shreyas Iyer with the Mumbai Indians’ superstar batter Suryakumar Yadav.
The trading window is open, and it will be until a few weeks before the IPL 2025 mega-auction, which is expected to be held in December of January.
Franchises can trade players currently, and KKR are reportedly pondering a massive trade with MI.
Suryakumar Yadav to be the new KKR captain? Shreyas Iyer to be traded to MI?
According to a report by RevSportz, the Shah Rukh Khan-owned KKR franchise are discussing offering the captaincy to Suryakumar Yadav, and they could trade away Shreyas Iyer.
This is surprising news, as Iyer captained KKR to the IPL 2024 title this year and ended the franchise’s 10-year wait for an IPL trophy.
Suryakumar, who is arguably the best T20 batsman in the world, has been with MI since 2018 but was overlooked for captaincy earlier this year. MI sacked Rohit Sharma from captaincy after they roped in Hardik Pandya through a trade from the Gujarat Titans ahead of the IPL 2024 auction.
It was believed for the last couple of seasons that Suryakumar would take over the MI captaincy from Rohit. Suryakumar had also deputized for Rohit and led the franchise once last year. But Hardik had reportedly put in the condition of taking over the captaincy immediately. Under Hardik, MI finished last in IPL 2024.
Iyer was bought by KKR in the IPL 2022 mega auction for INR 12.25 crore. In Iyer’s first season as KKR’s captain, the franchise failed to reach the playoffs, and he missed the IPL 2023 season due to a back injury.
KKR roped in their former title-winning captain, Gautam Gambhir, from LSG in the role of a mentor ahead of the IPL 2024 season. Gambhir and Iyer gelled brilliantly this year and brought back the glory days of KKR with a dominating season.
Suryakumar had previously been part of KKR from 2014 to 2017 under Gambhir, who mostly used him as a lower-middle-order batter. It was after being bought by MI in 2018 that he got regular opportunities in the top four, and that changed his career’s arc as he became one of the most fearsome T20 batters in the world.
The reportedly potential trade of Iyer and Suryakumar is still very unlikely to happen, as both are key members of their respective teams; one is a title-winning captain, while the other is arguably the best T20 batter in the world. So it doesn’t make much sense for the franchises to let go of their star players unless KKR’s can really tap into Suryakumar’s captaincy ambition.
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