Venkatesh Iyer says his focus is on his task

KKR's Venkatesh Iyer on managing expectations that come with the high valuation

- Arun Janardhan

Venkatesh Iyer remembers a conversation he had with his Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) teammate Mitchell Starc last season. The Indian Premier League side had bid a record ₹24.75 crore for the Australian cricketer ahead of the 2024 season, raising the inevitable doubts over how the fast bowler would justify that price tag.

"He said that 'the only thing I know is to bowl. I've been paid for that. So, I'm going to do that'," Iyer remembers Starc as saying, recollecting the Australian's words as he finds himself in a similar predicament.

Ahead of the 2025 season of the IPL, KKR bid ₹23.75 crore for Iyer, the third highest price paid in these auctions after Rishabh Pant's ₹27 crore (by Lucknow Super Giants) and ₹26.75 crore by Punjab Kings for Shreyas Iyer.

"We are all humans, live in a world where social media is predominant. I will have to learn to just deal with it," says Venkatesh about the expectations that come with the high valuation.

"The simplest thing to do is to focus on my task. Once the tournament starts, it really won't matter how much I've been paid. People, the social media will talk about you. That's not under your control. The only thing in your control is to deliver for your side," says the 30-year-old.

While Venkatesh had made it clear to the KKR management that he wanted to stay in the side—he has played for the team since his IPL debut in 2021—he also understood why KKR could not retain him before the auctions held in November because of certain restrictions in the retention rules. KKR's bidding war with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the all-rounder in the auctions was unexpected, even while considering that Venkatesh has a respectable average of more than 30 and a strike rate of nearly 140 over four seasons with the same team.