'I think KKR management has made a mistake' – RP Singh questions Venkatesh Iyer's auction price and IPL 2025 performance

The role of Venkatesh Iyer has been a big mystery for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL 2025. The batting all-rounder has not been consistent this season and has failed to live up to the huge price tag of INR 23.75 crore, which was the amount he was bought for in the IPL 2025 mega auction.

Iyer has so far only scored 135 runs in the eight matches he has played, at an average of 22.50, which has also led many experts to criticise KKR’s auction plan of spending so much money on him during the auction. One of the experts who has given his insights on this matter is RP Singh, who has said that the left-handed batter should be batting up the order in the tournament and needs more time at the crease. He also brought up the fact that it was a huge mistake made by the franchise to let go of Shreyas Iyer, who had led the team to their third title last season.

"KKR have invested a lot in Venkatesh Iyer. He has been given a lot of time. Let him be an opener. When you make a player a part of your team in such a big auction, you must be thinking about whether he will be our main player or our captaincy material. But both those things are not there. I think KKR management has made a mistake. When you left your best captain (Shreyas Iyer) at the auction table, somebody would definitely pick him, and now he's captaining well at PBKS," Singh spoke exclusively on JioHotstar.

"At this moment, I don't think it will be wise to drop Iyer. You have given him a number of matches. You can only get a quality player back in form by giving him more matches. The money given to him to make him a part of the team may be playing on his mind. 'I have received so much money, why can't I make my team a champion?' There is an overpressure," the 2007 T20 World Champion concluded.

KKR aim for second win over PBKS at Eden Gardens

Speaking of KKR’s upcoming match, they will be playing against the Punjab Kings on April 26 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. This will be the second match between the two sides. The first encounter saw the Knight Riders emerge victorious in a low-scoring match, defending a total of 111 runs in the end.