Flamboyant all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer has credited Kolkata Knight Riders for giving him the right direction. The 27-year-old took center stage in the second half of IPL 2021 and scored 370 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 128.47. He was instrumental in KKR’s strong comeback in the UAE leg of the IPL after his team’s slow start in the initial matches. KKR finished as runners-up last season and Iyer made his T20I debut for India.
Iyer recalled the time he went unsold twice in last year’s auction but KKR decided to take him in the final round because of his good batting performance for Madhya Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy ahead of the auction. After that the franchise scouted him.
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“Many thanks to KKR. If there was no KKR, I would be nowhere. I had a good Mushtaq Ali last year – some good scores and one particular innings where I finished the game for my side. With the arrival of these knocks, KKR scouted me and they picked me in the auction. It was down the wire at the auction. I went unsold twice and then KKR picked me in the final round.
Iyer thanked KKR for believing in him and heaped praise on him for creating a culture of the two-time champions where he did not ignore any player.
“Once I was in KKR, there came a time when I felt that somewhere I am, I am doing something right in my life. Then the first phase happened and I didn’t get a chance. But, thanks to KKR for believing in me and making me understand that even though I am not playing, I am in the mix. He didn’t completely ignore me or any player for that matter. They always insisted on me that I will play and when I play, I will do well.
Iyer was one of the pillars for KKR’s big turnaround in the second half of the season, where the franchise decided to give him a chance in the playing XI as an opener. He joined hands with Shubman Gill at the top and played some valuable innings for the team as KKR reached their third IPL final.
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“The spirit that KKR showed brought out the best in me. It would be very wrong if I say that it is me who did this. It was the team that inspired me to do something that I cherish.”
“We were not where we wanted to be at the end of the first phase in India. But then came the UAE and what happened was a story that can be told even after 20-30 years. It was a really special journey,” he said.
Ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, KKR retained Iyer for Rs 8 crore ahead of some senior players. The franchise also retained Iyer along with Andre Russell, Varun Chakraborty and Sunil Narine as they would like to regroup some players in the mega auction.
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