KKR CEO breaks his silence on not retaining Shubman Gill ahead of IPL 2022 mega auction

India opening batter Shubman Gill started his IPL career with two-time champions, Kolkata Knight Riders in 2018. Five years back, he was signed for his decent time in the U19 World Cup 2018 which India won. From 2018 to 2021, Gill played for the team in different positions. Meanwhile, ahead of the mega auction last year, the 2018 U19 World Cup winner joined the eventual winners, Gujarat Titans.

The Ahmedabad-based side was making their IPL debut. Meanwhile, during the ongoing IPL 2023, KKR CEO Venky Mysore has spoken about letting go of Shubman and others ahead of the mega auction. The former said that they are happy to see their ex-players doing well for other teams. Venky added that the rules of the auction was the reason for them letting go quite a few players.

“There is actually happiness when we see some of the players we have developed go to other franchises and do well — Shubman Gill is an example, the limitation as you know, the rules the IPL and BCCI make. In 2022 auction, we were allowed to keep only four players. There’s always a debate. There is always eight or nine whom we would like to keep, you had to select four out of those,” Mysore told reporters on the sidelines of Knight Golf event in Kolkata.

Letting go of Shubman Gill and others was never a regret: Venky Mysore

The KKR and Trinbago Knight Riders CEO further added that they have no regrets about letting those players go. Last year, the team failed to qualify for the playoffs after having a decent start. In the ongoing season, they have only managed three wins in nine games. Knight Riders now need to win their remaining five games to remain in top-four contention.

“It’s never a regret, and the decisions were made based on the set of information that was available at that point. We believe those were the right decisions we made, but it’s always tough to lose some players,” he added.