Kolkata Knight Riders, in IPL 2023, could not make the playoffs. But the team played some exciting cricket and fought well under the leadership of Nitish Rana and new head coach Chandrakant Pandit. Venkatesh Iyer was one of the team’s top performers this season, scoring 404 runs at a strike rate of 145.84, including a century and two half-centuries. He mostly played as an impact player during IPL 2023 and made the required impact more often than not.
This was also the time when the Madhya Pradesh cricketer was making a comeback after injury and was doing his bit rather than shouldering the responsibility completely. In an exclusive interview with India TV, Venkatesh Iyer talks about his IPL stint with KKR, his injury and many other aspects of his cricket career.
Here are some excerpts from the interview:
- What was your reaction to the grand finale of IPL? Ravindra Jadeja win for M S Dhoni And CSK? Who were you backing to win the trophy?
special moment. Obviously GT was playing better cricket throughout the tournament. I was backing GT to win but I think what CSK did, what Ravindra Jadeja did was unbelievable, especially at the start of the tournament. Nobody gave him a chance with his bowling attack but winning the IPL is something that is amazing and all the credit should really go to the skipper MS Dhoni.
- In your IPL stint, you have scored 404 runs in IPL 2023 and batted mostly at 3 for KKR. A slightly different cast compared to earlier seasons. How was the experience? How did you prepare for it?
Yes, I was ready to open. But Shreyas got injured at the start of the season and I was asked to take the number three spot and as a batsman I have always been flexible. I wanted, you know, wanted to contribute regardless of the situation and my preparation included playing with the new ball and then working on the spinners and even playing the death overs. I think it was full preparation and I worked a lot with Abhishek Nair.
- You had an ankle injury last year which affected your domestic season as well. How did you keep yourself motivated during this time?
Yes, it was a weird injury and injuries bring you down physically and mentally more than the physical part. Mental stress is something that you experience a lot. You know, you watch your other friends playing cricket and you can’t get out of bed, then doing rehab. But I tried to keep myself busy and developed a new skill. I tried to read more, learn about other things, learn a new skill. I tried a lot of cooking and stuff, but yeah, once I was able to walk and jog, I felt confident that I could really hit the ground running again. And the same thing happened.
- You played mostly as an impact player this season and didn’t bowl at all. Was there anything to do with the team combination or was some kind of injury keeping you away from bowling?
Not necessary. I think it was part of the team combination. Obviously, with the arrival of the impact player, the all-rounders did not get a chance to bowl much. You have got another specialist bowler in the team. So in this case the Impact Player Rule was used. But overall, I think I’ve always wanted to bowl, I just haven’t got a lot of chances to bowl.
- now played under your captaincy John MorganShreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana in IPL for KKR. How would you rate their captaincy and how are they different from each other?
Yes, different style of captaincy, obviously. Moggs (Morgan) has international experience leading a team and Nitish Rana with his first stint as captain. He’s a team man, you know. Everyone loves him, he is very approachable as a captain and tried his level best. I am extremely happy and I am really proud of her.
- You have played 9 T20s and 2 ODIs for India so far. With the T20 World Cup in 2024, are you looking forward to making a comeback in the Indian team?
Well, I’m not expecting anything. To be honest, the only thought in my mind is to get fit, give my 200%, start bowling and contribute to whichever team I play for. I don’t look too far ahead, it’s just that I’ll take it one day at a time. Keep going one practice session at a time.
- You had earlier also worked with Chandrakant Pandit. How exciting was it to be reunited with him in the KKR camp?
Great, you know. I am extremely happy for him that his strategy has now found a platform at the international level and he has led an IPL team as head coach. I am really happy for him and we have played some great cricket under him. Amazing strategy. It is just that some things did not go in our favor, otherwise we could have reached the victory.
- Rinku Singh’s season was also excellent. He was the highest scorer for KKR in IPL 2023. your thoughts about them? If you can, please explain the moment when he hit five sixes in the last over.
He is the best thing that happened to KKR this year, you know, amazing guy. He is a gem of a person. He has shown time and time again that good things happen to good people. And yes, I can’t forget the moment he hit 5 sixes and I think we ran on the ground like we’ve won the IPL. I was very happy for him.
- Venkatesh Iyer – A finisher or a top-order batsman or a complete all-rounder – which role do you prefer?
Obviously Venkatesh, a complete all-rounder and I want to contribute for the team in all three departments irrespective of batting position, be it opening, middle order, lower order to finish the game, power play and death Have to bowl even overs. you know i really want to be a complete allrounder hardik pandya Is doing. I look up to him as one of the best all-rounders in the world and I really want to replicate what he is doing.
- Apart from KKR, any other team you want to play for or dream of playing for? Why else?
I think I get what I want in KKR. The atmosphere is great, the management is great. I really don’t want to look ahead to any other team other than KKR.