Venkatesh Iyer had quickly become one of the most trustworthy batters in the IPL. The southpaw joined the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2021 and has become their most consistent batter ever since. Scoring 956 runs for them in 36 matches, he’s been one of their top five scorers in the last three seasons.
With the KKR starting their IPL 2024 campaign on March 23 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at their home ground, Venkatesh talked about having Gautam Gambhir as their head coach, lauding the former 2-time champion skipper as an amazing ‘leader and tactician’. Talking at the KKR pre-season camp, he said:
“Gautam sir coming back is going to be a huge plus for KKR. I’m really looking forward to working with him. Whatever conversations I’ve had with him in the past, he has always talked about creating an impact for the team’s goals rather than personal milestones. He is an amazing leader and I’m also excited to see the combination of him and Chandu sir (Chandrakant Pandit). Both are amazing tacticians and have the experience of winning trophies.”
On Shreyas Iyer backing his bowling and being ready for the challenge, Venkatesh Iyer said:
“The domestic tournaments help build confidence of executing your best balls under pressure situations. I have got a lot of confidence in my skills and once you’re confident about your skills, then the execution part becomes easy. Whenever the captain would want me to bowl an over or two, I’ll always be there. Shreyas has always had that confidence in me and he trusts that I can get the job done for the team in pressure situations.”
