Venkatesh Iyer was sent to opening in IPL 2021 and his life changed ever since. The all-rounder smacked 370 runs in 10 matches in that season and took Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the final, where they suffered a 27-run defeat to Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Nevertheless, the KKR management was extremely impressed with Venkatesh’s aggressive batting and retained him ahead of Shubman Gill in the IPL 2022 mega auction.
The southpaw had an under-par season in 2022 but the management backed him and in 2023, he scored 404 runs in 14 matches. In the 2024 edition, Venkatesh hit 370 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of 158.79. He played an important role in helping KKR lift their third championship in the IPL. On the night of the finals, the 30-year-old smashed a half-century, chasing 114 runs.
Despite so, the KKR management didn’t retain him ahead of the 2025 season. However, they broke the bank and signed the cricketer for INR 23.75 crore in the mega-auction. After that, Venkatesh was included in the leadership group as the franchise announced him as vice-captain.
Ahead of the new season, he opened up about Kolkata, stating that it’s a huge deal for him to represent the franchise. He cited the example of Rinku Singh, mentioning that people know the flamboyant cricketer today because of KKR. He thanked the management for giving him the opportunity and added that playing at Eden Gardens was always the dream.
“Take Rinku Singh as an example. He is a hero now, and the entire cricketing world knows him. That is the magic of the Kolkata crowd. When you come to Kolkata, you fall in love with cricket. It’s a huge deal to play for this franchise. Luckily, KKR was the first team to give me that platform by picking me. Representing this team is very special. Playing at the iconic Eden Gardens was always a dream,” Venkatesh told RevSportz.
© 2009-2025 Independent News Service. All rights reserved.
