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Venkatesh Iyer appears among impact players vs Punjab (Source: twitter)
With his achievements, while wearing the purple and gold of the Kolkata franchise, Venkatesh Iyer unexpectedly found himself in the spotlight in 2021. The team has found the solution to its batting troubles in PowerPlay overs in the unsung Indore all-rounder after experimenting with nine previous opening combinations since 2019 without much success.
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Immediately following the five-month break caused by COVID, Iyer's entrance was like a breath of fresh air. The 6-foot-4-inch left-handed hitter, who batted first alongside Shubman Gill, helped the squad defeat rival Mumbai and Virat Kohli's Bangalore in back-to-back victories. He scored 53 against Mumbai and 41 not out against Bangalore. He finished that edition by amassing 370 runs in 10 games at a 41.11 average.
Venkatesh Iyer could not succeed in the national colours
Iyer's dedicated efforts weren't ignored, and November 2021 was perhaps the month he had his best 30 days. KKR immediately retained him for the upcoming season after being fast-tracked into the Indian white-ball team for the New Zealand series. The amount was Rs. 8 crore, which equates to a staggering 3900% annual raise in his pay!
He was removed from the national side as the uproar abruptly subsided. Iyer is grateful that the Knights have chosen to support him in the forthcoming edition once more. He claims, "KKR has faith in me. As a cricket franchise, they understand that you're not going to have a good season every time. More than performances, they are looking at the attitude a player brings to the team. They look at the approach and see whether the guy is sincere and putting in the hard yards."
In 2023's opening game for Kolkata against Punjab in Mohali, Iyer was named in the impacts players list, not the starting XI. The growth trajectory for the batter has been on the wrong end of the curve, and there's an urgent requirement for him to up his game if he wants to play a more significant role in this year's campaign and reopen the national team doors.
Here's how fans reacted to the updates:
Arey iss Mandeep se to Laakh guna Sahi tha wo..π«
β ππ¨ππ’π§ π (@Rolucksbin) April 1, 2023
Impact player rule is the worst ever rule in the cricket history!
β Sagar Dutt (@iSagardutt) April 1, 2023
They retained a one season wonder over Future π π
β ΰ²₯_ΰ²₯ (@onlyRP17matters) April 1, 2023
Let's laugh at kkhaar
KKR retention in 2022 was total blunder
β Rohan Mali (@ro21_9) April 1, 2023
They let go Gill for Chakravarthy and Venkatesh Iyerπ€¦π»ββοΈ
Being an impact player is not something bad
β Rohaan goyal (@RohannGoyal) April 1, 2023
Chutiye mallu that is called tactics and planning
β Mohit π» (@_Mukhtaliff_) April 1, 2023
How can they name a foriegn player in substitute when there are already 4 in the playing XI ?
β Prasanna Ganesh Thunga (@_monkinthecity_) April 1, 2023
Worst Decision was not retaining GILL..
β Rahmath Khan (@Rahmath51948849) April 1, 2023