Former Australia captain Aaron Finch suggested that KKR should release Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Quinton de Kock, and Manish Pandey ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. "₹23.75 crore is too high for a player whom they bought as an opening batter but then used in the middle," he said about Venkatesh. Finch added that KKR will not release Russell.