But was the ruthlessness intelligent or impulsive? To answer that, we will use RVS – Retention Value Score and RRS – Release Risk Score.

RVS (Retention Value Score) – scale of 1-10; 1- poor value retention, 10 – elite value (impact + scarcity + price)

RRS (Release Risk Score) – scale of 1-10; 1 = almost no chance of regret, 10 = very high chance the cut backfires.

The macro picture: Purse, slots and other details

2025 told KKR exactly where they stood. With the bat, Ajinkya Rahane quietly became their stabilizer: 390 runs in 13 matches at an average of 35.45 and a strike rate of 147.72, with three fifties. Angkrish Raghuvanshi added 300 runs at 33.33 (SR 139.53), Rinku Singh chipped in with 206 runs at an average of 29.42 (SR 153.73), and Sunil Narine supplied 246 runs at a strike rate of 170.83, their most violent striker of the season.

With the ball, the spin axis carried them. Varun Chakaravarthy and Vaibhav Arora shared 34 wickets – 17 each, but in different ways: Varun averaged 22.52 with an economy of 7.66, while Arora averaged around 25.59 with a damaging economy of 10.11. Narine’s 12 wickets at an economy of 7.80 and Harshit Rana’s 15 at an average of 29.86 (10.18 economy) underlined a simple truth: KKR controlled games when spin was in play and bled when their seamers were exposed.

KKR 2025 macro snapshot

Retentions: strength of the spine

Top-order and middle-order core: RVS Band 7-9.5/10

Rahane’s 2025 season is the classic case of numbers overruling narrative. As a top-order batter, he scored 390 runs, 35.45 average, 147.72 strike rate, and three half-centuries. For a side otherwise light on bankable top-order volume, that was premium. RVS 8/10

Raghuvanshi’s 300 runs at 33.33 and 139.53 strike rate at 19 years scream huge potential. He has already shown he can bat through the middle overs without strangling the scoring rate. RVS 8.5/10

Rinku’s raw tally dipped from his 2023 high, but a 29.42 average and a 152.73 strike rate across 11 innings show that he can still be relied on as an Indian finisher. However, there is the fact that Rinku Singh has failed to deliver the impact that he did in 2023. RVS 7.5/10

Narine and Varun, with Anukul in support – RVS 8.5-9/10

Sunil Narine’s dual impact is still outrageous. With the bat, he scored 246 runs at an average of 22.36, while scoring at a strike rate of 170.83. With the ball, he picked up 12 wickets at an average of 29.25, economy of 7.80. He is effectively two players in one slot; however, there will be more expectations from him as a bowler. RVS 8.5/10

Varun Chakaravarthy remains the pure specialist spinner. He picked up 17 wickets in IPL 2025 at an average of 22.52 while maintaining an economy of 7.66 and having a strike rate of 17.60. On a team where the seamers leaked, his control across the season is invaluable. RVS 9/10

Anukul Roy’s sample is tiny, but the management has trusted him for a couple of seasons. Though Roy is yet to realise his full potential in the IPL, he has shown signs of developing into a premium all-rounder. RVS 7.5/10

Indian seamers and depth picks – RVS 6.5 – 7.5/10

Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora look ugly on economy but impressive on strike rate and appetite for tough overs. They are young Indian quicks trusted at both ends of the innings – exactly the sort of profiles that become irrationally expensive in auctions. RVS 7/10 each.

Ramandeep Singh was underutilised by KKR last season. But the release of Andre Russell might elevate his role in the upcoming season. Given the potential he has shown as a lower-order finisher, Ramandeep could turn out to be a trump card for the KKR. RVS 7/10

Manish Pandey did not get a lot of chances. In the three innings that he batted, Pandey showed consistency but lacked the impact that was required of a senior batter. RVS 6/10

Umran Malik was not a part of the last edition of the tournament because of an injury. His pace promises to make him a dangerous option, but his injury proneness and sometimes wayward bowling reduce his value. RVS 5/10

Releases: cuts that can bite back

Andre Russell – RRS 7/10

Andre Russell’s 2025 body of work is a study in volatility. With the bat, he delivered 167 runs at an average of 18.55, while scoring at the rate of 163.72. With the ball, he picked up only weight wickets while conceding runs at an economy of 11.94. However, it often felt as if the KKR management had forgotten how to use their most lethal weapon. Sometimes they kept him too late in the batting order, and also with the ball, they did not use him enough in the death, where he proved his utility in the 2023 season.

Letting go of a high-fee, high-maintenance overseas all-rounder at this stage is a defensive move, but it carries risk if a rival team extracts a vintage season out of him.

Venkatesh Iyer – RRS 3/10

By contrast, this is almost a textbook low-regret reset. Venkatesh Iyer scored 142 runs from 7 innings at an average of 20.28 while scoring at a rate of 139.21 with no overs bowled. All this while he was being paid nearly INR 24 cr for the season.

Another franchise might still unlock his peak potential; KKR, however, needed to convert that dead auction into auction ammunition.

De Kock and Gurbaz – RRS 5.5/10

Quinton de Kock posted 152 runs at an average of 21.71 (SR 129.91), heavily propped up by a line 97*. Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored 74 runs at an average of 18.50 while striking at 139.62. Together, they represent the archetypal streaky overseas keeper-openers.

Releasing both players is a bold structural play: KKR are betting they can either find a domestic keeper to unlock an overseas slot, or a different kind of overseas gloveman who covers more bases. If they nail that in the auction, this looks smart; if they misread the market, they have created a self-inflicted wound.

Moeen, Nortje, Johnson, Sakariya – RRS 4-5/10

Mooen Ali, Anrich Nortje, Spencer Johnson, and Chetan Sakariya all sit firmly in the replaceable category on 2025 evidence. With Narine, Varun, and Anukul in place and pace bowling still a problem area, KKR have simply chosen not to double down on overseas and domestic options that did not solve the problem.

Trade and final verdict

The lone confirmed trade from KKR is Mayank Markande to the Mumbai Indians. This is entirely consistent with the rest of this window. When you already have Narine, Varun, and Anukul, a leg spinner in the side seems surplus. KKR have converted him into freedom elsewhere, MI get a low-cost reunion.

Overall, the release list of KKR can be rated 7.5/10. KKR have preserved the pieces that actually drove their performance in 2025, accepted that the Russell-Venkatesh axis had reached its logical end, and kept enough Indian bowling upside to avoid a total dependence on the auction.

Now the real exam begins for the three-time champions. With INR 64.3 cr and six overseas slots in hand, they must parlay this clean-up into a settled keeper, one more dependable top-order scorer, and a genuine pace spearhead. If they land even two of those three, this reset will read less like an overreaction – and more like the moment they quietly rebuilt the next KKR era around a spin-first identity and an Indian core.