Venkatesh Iyer Ready to Take the Helm for KKR in IPL 2025
Author: Vishnu Reddy
Updated At:
The exciting times are coming back on Indian soil and the Indian Premier League is coming up with another thrilling season. The 18th edition commences on March 22, fans are all geared up and ready for a thrilling season. As the new season is coming up, KKR is yet to reveal their captain for the upcoming season. In that situation, KKR’s ace all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer revealed is ready to take the captaincy ability if the franchise asks.
Venkatesh Iyer Is Ready For Captaincy Duty
After 10 years, Kolkata Knight Riders lifted their third IPL trophy in 2024 under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy. But as Shreyas Iyer joined the Punjab Kings, KKR is on the hunt for a new captain. In the current squad of the franchise, there are some contenders for the role. Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer are among them.
After releasing Venkatesh Iyer, KKR bought him back with a whopping amount of 23.75 crore. With a strong record in back, the ace all-rounder is a strong contender for the captaincy position. He revealed that even if he doesn’t have a captaincy record he is all set to take responsibility.
“Definitely. Definitely, I'm ready. Again, I've always said this: captaincy is just a tag. I believe in leadership. That is a bigger role to play, being a leader.” Iyer said.
Focusing On the Leadership Role
Iyer made his IPL debut in 2021 and played a key role in KKR's remarkable turnaround that season. After that, he becomes a strong pillar of KKR’s squad. So far, Iyer has scored 1326 runs in 51 matches for KKR at a strike rate of 137. He has remained loyal to the franchise, never playing for any other team. After mot having captaincy experience at the domestic stage, he focused on the leadership role.
“You don't necessarily need the tag of a captain to be a leader in your dressing room. You need to set examples. You need to be a good role model, both on and off the field, which I am doing right now in MP. I'm not the captain of the MP team, but my opinions are respected and I really love to be in an atmosphere where every individual - again, new or experienced, 20 lakhs, 20 crore, whatever - you just need to have the freedom to voice your opinion. Or you just need to have the freedom to give opinions and give suggestions and them to be taken in the right spirit.” he said.
“I've always wanted to be that person. And if captaincy comes my way, I would definitely want to do it. There's no ambiguity surrounded to this. I'll definitely do it, if it comes my way. There is no reason not to do it." he added.
As the IPL 2025 is coming up, Kolkata Knight Riders will feature in the tournament opener as they are all set to face Royal Challengers Bengaluru on March 22. Before that, fans are eagerly waiting to see Shreyas Iyer’s successor.
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