'Never felt like I was out of the system' - Venkatesh Iyer opens up on debut IPL season with KKR

In a short span, Venkatesh Iyer has gained a lot of attention in the world of cricket. He made his debut in the Indian Premier League in 2021 and represented the Kolkata Knight Riders. Missing out on the first phase of the IPL, he was given the opportunity to play in UAE and he delivered some brilliant knocks.

After an impressive season, he was given his maiden call-up to represent team India in the international games. And his promising show led KKR to retain him ahead of the IPL 2022 for INR 8 crore. The 27-year-old is an all-rounder in the team as he opens the game for KKR and is also a bowling option for the team.

In an interview with Cricbuzz, he opened up about his time at the KKR camp last year and his experience of being with the two-time champions. When asked about how he felt being benched during the first half of IPL 2021 that happened in India, he said:

“I did not play the first half of the season but the good thing was I never felt like I was out of the system. I was always being considered and Brendon (McCullum) always used to speak to me about how I would approach the game when I get the opportunity to play and that’s something I really respected.”

Kohli is a legend of the game one of the greatest ever: Iyer

Iyer played his first game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and turned out to be KKR’s trump card in the season. He scored 370 runs in the 10 matches, averaging 41.11, as he ended his stint last year scoring four half-centuries.

“Bhajji pa (Harbhajan Singh) saw me in the practice games and felt like I could make the cut. And once I made my debut against RCB, he was speaking to (Virat) Kohli after the game and I was passing by and asked me to talk to Kohli. Kohli is a legend of the game, one of the greatest ever, and Bhajji pa wanted me to learn a few things from him. It was great on Virat’s part to take out time and speak to me about my batting,” he said.