Ramandeep Singh on former KKR captain’s confidence: “Shreyas Iyer chose to trust himself over Gautam Gambhir.”
orangeevaThe partnership between Shreyas Iyer and Gautam Gambhir led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL title in 2024. By captaining KKR to their third Indian Premier League (IPL) championship that year, Shreyas Iyer ended the team’s 12-year title drought. However, despite this success, KKR chose not to retain Iyer ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction and did not place a bid for him during the auction itself.
While the franchise did not offer an official reason for this decision, it is widely believed to stem from a mix of financial considerations, auction strategy, and team restructuring plans.
In their victorious 2024 campaign, KKR was led by captain Shreyas Iyer, guided by mentor Gautam Gambhir, and coached by Chandrakant Pandit. Following Iyer’s release before the 2025 season, the team appointed Ajinkya Rahane as the new captain.
Ramandeep Singh reveals that Shreyas Iyer’s self-belief was exceptionally strong, often leading him to ignore the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) management.
Ramandeep Singh, one of the six players retained by KKR, shared some surprising insights. He revealed that during Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy, the batter frequently overlooked advice from the management, including from then-mentor Gautam Gambhir, choosing instead to follow his own instincts.
In a podcast with Raj Shamani on YouTube, uploaded on March 22, Ramandeep said that even when the management gave instructions, Shreyas preferred to act based on what he believed was right.
“We used to get directions from outside, but whatever he (Shreyas) felt was right, that’s what he would do. The self-belief he had was very strong,” Ramandeep said during the podcast.
*KKR's Ramandeep Singh – Shreyas Iyer used to ignore instructions coming from outside(Gautam Gambhir) and took his own decision. He has insane self belief and confidence.
– That is why Gautam Gambhir hate Shreyas coz he called out GG for credit stealing openly. [pic.twitter.com/jWEvvIQo0s*](https://t.co/jWEvvIQo0s)
— Rajiv (@Rajiv1841) June 25, 2025
As Ramandeep reflected on the situation, he appeared to take a subtle dig at Shreyas Iyer. After KKR chose not to retain him, Iyer was snapped up by Punjab Kings for a staggering INR 26.75 crore.
Ramandeep’s comment hinted that leaving a team purely for financial reasons says a lot about a player’s values. He noted that, despite starting out with much lower pay, some cricketers put money above loyalty. His words highlighted the contrast between Iyer’s lucrative move and his commitment to KKR.
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