Kamal Ghorui
Former KKR coach Chandrakant Pandit has admitted that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made a costly call by letting go of Shreyas Iyer after their IPL 2024 title-winning season, saying, “Unfortunately, we missed him.”Pandit, who was KKR’s head coach when the franchise released Iyer, reflected on the move after the batter’s strong run with Punjab Kings. Since joining Punjab for Rs 26.75 crore, Iyer led the team to the IPL 2025 final, and PBKS have also remained unbeaten in their first six matches of the IPL 2026 season.“Unfortunately, we missed him,” Pandit told RevSportz on Iyer, who joined PBKS for Rs 26.75 crore in the mega auction before IPL 2025.“Shreyas is a wonderful player who won the trophy for KKR as captain, and I admire the way he handled the team. But sometimes, certain circumstances and broader strategies force you to let such players go. Obviously, as a coach at KKR, I felt bad about that. It wasn’t a purposeful omission, but things simply didn’t work out for us. It isn’t only Shreyas; I feel the same about Phil Salt and others.”The veteran coach, along with Shreyas and mentor Gautam Gambhir, was part of the IPL 2024 title-winning set-up for KKR.Pandit also spoke about Iyer’s absence from India’s T20I side. He said strong competition for places often leads to such decisions.“Shreyas has been part of the Indian team and has delivered strong performances. Unfortunately, he was left out, but situations like this are not uncommon. When building a team, there is always the challenge of balancing experience with the need to groom new talent. With the depth of talent available, it becomes difficult to provide opportunities to every deserving player.”“There is always competition, and often, equally capable replacements are available. That said, Shreyas has been leading Punjab impressively, and his batting reflects noticeable maturity. He plays with a fearless mindset, focusing less on the situation and more on winning the game, which is evident in the way he constructs his innings,” the 64-year-old added.Iyer has been one of the more consistent batters in the last two IPL seasons. In five innings this year, he has scored 208 runs at an average of 52 and a strike rate of 182.45.
