Ahead of the IPL 2026, which begins on March 28, former India coach Anil Kumble identified two biggest blunders that KKR made in the previous season.
After winning the IPL 2024 title, KKR made several changes to their squad in the next season and released some key players who had played an important role in the triumph. However, they could not bring them back for the following season, which later hurt the team as they finished eighth in the table.
Speaking on JioHotstar, former India coach Anil Kumble highlighted the mistake that Kolkata Knight Riders made two years ago by releasing their captain Shreyas Iyer and Phil Salt.
“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.
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In the IPL 2024, Shreyas Iyer scored 351 runs in 14 innings for Kolkata Knight Riders. He was later released by the franchise and was picked by Punjab Kings in IPL 2025, where he scored 604 runs in 17 innings at an average of 50.33 and led his side to the final.
On the other hand, Phil Salt scored 435 runs at an average of 39.54 in 12 innings in IPL 2024. He joined Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the next season and scored 403 runs at an average of 33.58 in 13 innings. He also played a big role in helping RCB win the title.
So, releasing Shreyas Iyer and Phil Salt did not help KKR, as the players they bought instead of them did not perform well. If they had kept them, it could have resulted in a better season for the team.
If you look at the teams from IPL 2025 to IPL 2026, most of them have retained their top order. However, after a disappointing season, KKR have once again changed their top order and will have a new opening pair this season. According to Anil Kumble, the franchise has not shown much consistency in terms of retaining players.
They had Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Quinton de Kock as their two wicketkeeping options in place of Salt, but both had disappointing seasons and were released by the franchise.
In the upcoming IPL 2026 season, they will again have new wicketkeeping options in Tim Seifert and Finn Allen. The good thing for KKR is that both players are coming in good form, as they were impressive in the T20 World Cup 2026.
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