KKR’s Venkatesh Iyer has clapped back at his price tag critics, saying that the amount of money he is getting paid doesn’t matter once the season starts. Venkatesh Iyer was bought in the auction for Rs 23.75 crore, which was seen as a gamble by many. In the two matches, he came out to bat, the MP batter Venkatesh Iyer struggled to find rhythm as KKR slumped to two losses in three matches.
Venkatesh Iyer turned up when his side needed him the most against SRH, scoring a 29-ball 60, which helped KKR score 200 in their 20 overs against SRH. Kolkata went on to win the match by 80 runs and secure their second victory of the season. Venkatesh Iyer answered his critics with a blistering 60 off 29 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad to help KKR get back to winning ways in IPL 2025.
Venkatesh Iyer’s rise to ranks in IPL Auction
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) acquired the services of Madhya Pradesh all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer for Rs 23.75 crore in the IPL 2025 Auction here at the Abadi Al Johar Arena in Jeddah on Sunday. With a base price of Rs. 2 crore, Venkatesh Iyer was expected to fetch a good price, but no one could have predicted the astronomical heights his auction would reach.
KKR, who didn’t have the option of Right to Match heading into this auction (as they had already retained six players), were the first ones to raise the paddle for the MP all-rounder. LSG joined the bid quickly but moved out when the bid reached Rs 7.75 crore. RCB entered next and had a bidding war with KKR for Iyer
KKR, the team he helped lead to glory in the previous season, opened the bidding. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) quickly joined in, trying to snatch Venkatesh Iyer from KKR. The bidding escalated steadily, with LSG pushing the price to Rs 6 crore. However, they bowed out as KKR raised their bid to Rs 7.75 crore.
Paddles were raised rapidly as the two franchises showed no signs of backing down. The bid crossed Rs 18 crore, then Rs 19 crore, with KKR momentarily in the lead at Rs 19.25 crore. KKR raised the bid to Rs 20.75 crore, but RCB still wasn’t done. The battle continued until the bid hit an astonishing Rs 23.75 crore as KKR claimed the services of their former all-rounder.
Venkatesh Iyer’s performance in IPL and for KKR
Venkatesh Iyer had debuted for KKR in 2021 and immediately made an impact with a prolific season, scoring 370 runs in just 10 matches at an average of 41.11. His exploits with the bat and ball earned him a spot in the Indian national team in both T20Is and ODIs. Over his IPL career, Iyer amassed 1,326 runs in 50 matches at an average of 31.57, with one century and 11 half-centuries with highest score of 104.
Bought in 2021, Venkatesh Iyer has played 51 matches in the IPL, all of them for KKR, scoring 1326 uns, including a hundred. He became the first Indian batter to hit a hundred for KKR in 2023 season.
In IPL 2024, Venkatesh Iyer’s value as a match-winner was undeniable. His T20 batting strike rate of 137.64 and his tight bowling economy under seven underscored his all-around capabilities. The Madhya Pradesh all-rounder had also hit 121 fours and 61 sixes in his IPL career, solidifying his reputation as a power-hitter. Venkatesh Iyer played a key role in KKR’s title-winning run in 2024, hitting 370 runs at a staggering strike rate of 158.
When Venkatesh Iyer accumulated just 9 runs in two outings – He didn’t get to bat in the second match – in IPL 2025, questions were being asked about his performances and hefty price Tags . However in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) after Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s dismissal, the Knight Riders tottered at 106/4 in the 13th over. Venkatesh Iyer upped the ante and fired a blistering 60 from 29 deliveries
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Venkatesh was asked if the innings helped him release the price tag pressure. The KKR vice-captain smiled at the question and said that money doesn’t define his role in the side as he wants to contribute towards the team’s success.
It’s very important for us to show positive but correct intent- Venkatesh Iyer
Venkatesh Iyer defined what aggression means to him and the Kolkata Knight Riders after outwitting the free-scoring Sunrisers Hyderabad with an all-round show in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the iconic Eden Gardens. The record signing of the defending champions, Venkatesh Iyer, kicked off the 18th edition of the cash-rich league with a string of low scores. In his first two outings, KKR’s vice-captain registered just 3 and 6 before breaking the shackles against the Sunrisers.
After Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s dismissal, the Knight Riders tottered at 106/4 in the 13th over. Venkatesh upped the ante and fired a blistering 60 from 29 deliveries at a rollicking strike rate of 206.90, studded with seven boundaries and three towering maximums. His single-handed effort, combined with Rinku Singh’s scorching 32*, lifted the defending champions to 200/6, a total 80 runs better than what the visitors could achieve.
“It’s very important for us to show positive but correct intent. If we are 50/6 and I still go and tonk everything, that’s positive, but that’s not correct. Aggression does not mean tonking every ball for sixes,” he told reporters in the post-match press conference.
“It’s about how you understand the conditions and how you are able to maximize the conditions in your favour. And that is what aggression actually is. We don’t want to be the team that scores 250 when we’re playing well, and when we’re not, we get out for 70. We want to be a team that understands the pitch and the conditions quickly. To assess the par score and try to make 20 runs above par,” he added.
Despite putting up a competitive total on the board, Venkatesh Iyer acknowledged that they didn’t feel too comfortable about it, especially against prolific Sunrisers. He bestowed praise on Vaibhav Arora for his Player of the Match spell in the powerplay that shifted the tides in their favour.
“Even after scoring 220, sometimes we feel that they can chase it,” he said.
“But we always knew that a team which is ultra-aggressive always carries the risk of getting wickets. That’s what we wanted to exploit. We have Vaibhav Arora, who bowls in the powerplay to pick wickets, and he did that. A team that hits every ball also has the chance of going down early. And that’s what we wanted to exploit,’ he said.
Vaibhav rattled Hyderabad’s top order in the powerplay, removing explosive southpaws Travis Head (4) and Ishan Kishan (2) cheaply. He returned to the attack in the middle overs and outmanoeuvred the dangerous Heinrich Klaasen to return with figures of 3/29. Vaibhav’s influential spell set the tempo for Kolkata as they breezed past the Sunrisers to secure a comfortable 80-run victory and move to the fifth spot with four points.
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