Shreyas Iyer opened up on his decision to part company with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season as the defending champions did not keep hold of their title-winning skipper despite them retaining their full quota of six players.

The three-time champions chose to retain Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Varun Chakravarthy alongside the uncapped duo of Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh. Shreyas expressed disappointment at not staying with the franchise and claimed there was a lack of communication from the Knight Riders and no concrete effort to retain him.

"Certainly, I had a fantastic time winning the championship at KKR. The fan following was outstanding, they were electrifying in the stadium and I loved every moment I spent there. So obviously, we had a conversation straight after the IPL championship. But for a few months, there was a layover and no concrete effort in having a retention talk. I was perplexed about what’s happening. So, because of a lack of communication, we came to a situation where we parted ways, mutually. And that’s the long and short of it," Shreyas said in an interaction with Indian Express.

"Yes, obviously disappointed, because when you don’t have a certain line of communication and if you get to know things one week prior to the retention date, then obviously something is lacking over there. So I had to take a call. Whatever is written is supposed to happen. But other than that, I would just like to say that the time I spent over there with Shah Rukh Sir, the family, all of them, was phenomenal. And obviously, winning the championship was probably an integral part of my life," Shreyas added.

"The move proved to be a blessing in disguise for Shreyas as it earned him a massive windfall of Rs. 26.75 crores in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction with Punjab Kings (PBKS) securing his services.. This has made the 31-year-old the second most expensive player in IPL history, only behind Rishabh Pant, who will earn Rs. 27 crore from the 2025 campaign after Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) broke the bank with him

The 2024 IPL-winning skipper was all praise for Shah Rukh Khan, who is the co-owner of the Knight Riders. Shreyas called the Bollywood superstar as a kind and generous person and someone who he learnt a lot from.

"We all know Shah Rukh sir, he’s a heartthrob and people go bonkers whenever they look at him. He’s got this certain zest when he walks into the room, that energy, that vibration. And he’s a dominant figure, obviously. I got to learn a lot from him. He is very kind and generous in nature. And probably that’s what makes him pretty unique as an individual. I love his confidence level and self-belief about the team the most. It was surreal," said Shreyas.

Shreyas has been named as the captain of PBKS for the 2025 IPL season. He will become the 17th player to lead the franchise when he takes charge of them in the 18th season of the league. The right-handed batter will become the first Indian to lead three different teams in the cash-rich league.

Shreyas previously also captained the Delhi Capitals (DC) from 2018 to 2020 and led them to their sole final to date. He led KKR in the 2022 and 2024 seasons while missing the 2023 campaign due to injury. The PBKS skipper holds the unique record of being the only captain in IPL history to lead two different teams to an IPL final.

Shreyas is also the first IPL-winning captain to be released by his franchise in the season after lifting the elusive trophy. Meanwhile, the Kolkata-based franchise are yet to name their new captain.

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