Capitán de KKR Ajinya Rahane “iyrktesh iyr

Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) Iyer punt hasn’t worked in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Before the season, the 3-time champions had decided to release their captain Shreyas Iyer but decided to spend Rs 23.75 crore on Venkatesh Iyer. The move wasn’t perceived well, and the result hasn’t been great either.

Having played for KKR since 2021, Venkatesh had averaged 31.57 with a 137.12 strike rate. But last season, the southpaw averaged 46.25 and struck at 158.79. It was this performance that prompted KKR to spend nearly 20% of their purse on Venkatesh.

Ajinkya Rahane backs Venkatesh Iyer

The 30-year-old had previously stated that he didn’t have any price tag pressure. It doesn’t seem like that at all. Luckily, KKR have persisted with Venkatesh. And with at least four more matches left in IPL 2025, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane has stated that they’ll play him and have full confidence that he’ll find his form soon.

“Every player goes through that phase where he is trying his best, but the performance is not coming. He is a quality player. We all know that he has done well for the franchisee in the past; he has won the matches for the team as well. It’s important from a management and leadership group point of view that we back him,” Rahane said on Star Sports Press Room.

The KKR captain has so much confidence in Venkatesh that he claims that he’ll play one great knock in the four remaining matches. Venkatesh has scored one fifty but, all in all, has registered double-digit scores just 3 of the 7 times. But Rahane thinks he’ll change his record soon.

“He has been working really hard. People generally only see the results and the outcome. But the hard work which all the players are doing, that is really important. From my point of view, we are completely backing Venkatesh Iyer. He is just one innings away. You can probably see one good innings from him in the next four games,” he added.