Venkatesh lyer Is Ready to Raise The Bar

Kolkata Knight Riders' most expensive acquisition for IPL 2025, the all-rounder strides into the new season with a singular focus: to pile up runs and pick wickets

- By Ravi Raj

It's never easy to make sense of what happens in the auction room. Yet if a player sparks a bidding war, and ends up raking in Rs 23.75 crore, as Venkatesh Iyer did in the mega auction last year, it affirms the basic economic truth: when demand outstrips supply, prices surge. He is a proven left-handed batter who can strike the ball cleanly, bat at multiple positions, and chip in with a few overs of medium pace when necessary. There are not many Indian players in the same mold at an elite level. Over the past four years, he has surpassed the 350-run mark in three of those seasons, establishing himself as a key player in their lineup. When these unique skillsets of Iyer are considered, the astronomical price paid by Kolkata Knight Riders that once seemed befuddling, starts making sense. Not to forget his breezy half-century on a balmy evening in Chennai last year that won Kolkata their third IPL title. He is someone Kolkata can rely on to open the innings, arrest the collapse, or destroy the spin attack in the middle overs. Additionally, the franchise wanted to preserve the core of their winning combination, and Iyer stood out as an indispensable component of their success.

Four years ago, when Kolkata gave him a major breakthrough, soon after his prolific run-scoring season in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, uncertainty loomed large over his ability to replicate his domestic form at the world's most competitive league. Iyer, however, erased the doubts in his first year itself, soaring high in conditions that grounded some of the most glorious batters. In the ensuing years, he became one of the most instrumental players in the squad, and with his match-winning half-century in the IPL final, he scripted his name in the club's folklore. While the astronomical amount—fourth-highest in IPL history—is a story in itself, what excites Venkatesh more is the chance to continue his career at a club where he feels he truly belongs.