All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer recently became the fourth-costliest pick in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after he was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for INR 23.75 crore at the mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The 29-year-old has now revealed that he always wanted to be retained by the franchise; however, he is glad to return to the Kolkata-based franchise.
After the auction, KKR CEO Venky Mysore stated that Venkatesh Iyer had told him that he would be sad if the franchise didn’t pick him up in the auction. The India all-rounder said he had a word with the KKR management.
A huge bidding war ensued between KKR and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), but in the end, Venky Mysore was able to make the winning bid.
“Obviously, when you see the paddle getting raised for you, you never want the paddle to stop getting raised. But after a point of time, I actually felt that both RCB and KKR were pushing for me,” Venkatesh Iyer told Indian Express.
“I think it goes to show how much trust KKR has in me. I was surprised, but at the same time, extremely happy. To be honest, I wanted to play for KKR. If it were in my hands, I would have loved to be retained. But that didn’t happen. I’m really happy that I’m back at KKR,” he added.
Talking about what sorts of conversations he had with KKR management and CEO Venky Mysore, Iyer said, “I had a word with him before the announcement of retentions. He was very clear in telling me that ‘we won’t be able to retain you because of the retention rules’ and not because they didn’t want me in KKR.”
“So I told him, ‘Sir, if you have the option, and if you can, please do everything in your power to get me back to KKR’. It kind of worked, didn’t it? It goes to show how much he trusts and believes in me. I’d really like to thank him. Over the years, we have built a wonderful relationship. I actually felt really grateful,” he added.
Will Venkatesh Iyer lead KKR in IPL 2025?
Since Venkatesh Iyer was picked up for such a big amount in the auction, several cricket pundits are expecting Venkatesh Iyer to lead KKR in the upcoming edition of the cash-rich league. However, some reports are stating that it would be senior pro-Ajinkya Rahane who will captain the three-time IPL champions.
But does Venkatesh Iyer see himself as the captain? “I’ve always maintained that I want to be a leader in any set-up that I walk into, be it Madhya Pradesh, an IPL team, or even the Indian team. Being a leader, you want to contribute with your ideas, with your suggestions,” said the all-rounder.
“You don’t really need the captaincy tag for that. So I always want to be a leader in the dressing room. And if captaincy comes my way, it will be an honour to lead such a reputed franchise. Let’s see what’s in store for me,” he added.
During the title-winning campaign for KKR this year, Venkatesh Iyer scored a total of 370 runs at an average of 46.25. Coming into bat at No.3, the left-hander displayed big hitting skills, maintaining a strike rate of 158.80.
During the IPL 2023 season, Venkatesh Iyer also scored a century for KKR against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium.
In his IPL career so far, he has played 50 matches, scoring 1,326 runs. With the ball in hand, he has taken three wickets in the tournament so far.
