"I can confirm the conversation happened, it was lengthy and happened many times" - Aakash Chopra on Shreyas Iyer's reason for parting ways with KKR

Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) player Aakash Chopra has contradicted Shreyas Iyer's recent statement that he parted ways with the franchise ahead of the IPL 2025 auction due to a lack of communication. He disclosed that the IPL 2024 winning skipper and the franchise couldn't reach an agreement.

KKR released Shreyas ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. The right-handed batter was bought by the Punjab Kings (PBKS) for ₹26.75 crore at the auction.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener disagreed with Shreyas' reason for departure from KKR.

"Shreyas Iyer's statement is interesting, that no one spoke to him. Now you start wondering. Since Shreyas Iyer was the captain, he should have been in the original scheme of things. He said KKR didn't even speak to him. I can confirm the conversation happened, it was lengthy and happened many times. You couldn't reach an agreement there. That's a separate issue," he said (5:05).

Chopra added that Shreyas opted not to stay with the franchise due to the usual reasons.

"I am not going to spell it out but it was the same bone of contention that is usually there. Interestingly enough, Shreyas also had some apprehensions about what would happen as he might end up somewhere. Based on what happened, sometimes you start thinking that karma is real," he observed.

Aakash Chopra acknowledged that there is some discrepancy between his and Shreyas Iyer's statements. He added that although the new PBKS skipper might contradict him, the conversations happened as per his sources.

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"They have tried to maintain their core quite a bit" - Aakash Chopra on KKR

Andre Russell and Sunil Narine were among six players retained by KKR ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. [P/C: iplt20.com]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra pointed out that the Kolkata Knight Riders have always tried to stick with their main players.

"Let's try to understand Kolkata's history a little, as to what sort of franchise it is. You may like or dislike franchises. You have a personal connect with someone and not with the other. You like someone's bad things and you find someone's good things bad also. However, there is one thing certain about Kolkata. They have tried to maintain their core quite a bit," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that KKR supported Sunil Narine and Andre Russell in their bad times and reacquired Venkatesh Iyer for an exorbitant sum after releasing him before the auction.

"Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, whether there might have been questions raised on the action or been banned by WADA, they didn't leave them. They tried their best. Since how many years has Venkatesh Iyer been with the team and when they couldn't retain him, they bought him for nearly ₹24 crore. So this is a franchise that invests a little in relationships," Chopra added.

The Kolkata Knight Riders retained Sunil Narine and Andre Russell for ₹12 crore apiece ahead of the auction. The three-time champions bought Venkatesh Iyer for ₹23.75 crore and even bid for Shreyas Iyer at the auction.