India, March 12 -- Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have stuck with some old guns, went all out for a player they see as their future leader and put their money on some relatively untested talent to build their squad for the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL). On the surface, it may look like they let go of three key figures of their title triumph last year in erstwhile captain Shreyas Iyer, pacer Mitchell Starc and explosive opener Phil Salt. However, just a little scratch on that surface is enough to show that KKR have stuck to their time-tested philosophy of holding on to some of their pillars come what may.

KKR were widely expected to announce Venkatesh Iyer as their captain after splurging INR 23.75 Crore on the all-rou...