"It will be difficult for them": Harbhajan Singh on KKR's retentions ahead of IPL 2025

Harbhajan Singh (Pic: File Pic)

Ahead of the IPL 2025 retentions, former Team India cricketer Harbhajan Singh said that Kolkata Knight Riders will face difficulties in leaving or retaining players.

Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets and lifted their third title under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Star Sports, Harbhajan Singh praised the Kolkata-based franchise and said that they dominated the previous season. The former cricketer also named the players who should be retained for the upcoming season of the T20 tournament.

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Ahead of the IPL 2025 retentions, Harbhajan Singh feels that Ramandeep Singh should be retained as an uncapped player as he has performed well in the 2024 edition as well as in the domestic circuit.

"KKR dominated the entire season, so it will be difficult for them to leave or retain anyone. But it's a matter of retention, so you only have limited numbers that you can retain. If I want to see or if I have to choose my 6 players, which 6 players will be there for KKR? I think Shreyas Iyer will be there, Phil Salt will be there, Narine will be there, Andre Russell will be there, Rinku Singh will be there. I will definitely want to see Rinku Singh. He should be the 5th player to be retained. And if we talk about one more player, who is the last player to be retained? It could be Ramandeep Singh.He is an uncapped player. I think he should be retained. He played very well last year and I have seen his performance in domestic cricket this year as well. So I think this 6th player, Knight Rider, will be retained," Harbhajan Singh was quoted in a release from Star Sports as saying.

As Gautam Gambhir is no longer the mentor of KKR, former West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has been appointed as their new mentor.

Bravo retired from international cricket in 2021 and decided to end his time in the Indian Premier League last year. In the past year, Dwayne Bravo shifted his focus to coaching roles, featuring for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Afghanistan.

Bravo's stint with KKR will be his second coaching role in the cash-rich league. He joined the Chennai Super Kings in 2011, retired from the franchise in 2022, and in 2023 joined the five-time champions as their bowling coach.

(With ANI Inputs)