‘My life, my game, my career’: After IPL failure, Venkatesh Iyer blocks out the naysayers

Venkatesh Iyer was KKR's most expensive buy for IPL 2025. (Photo: IPL)

For most of IPL 2025, Venkatesh Iyer’s record-breaking price tag followed him everywhere—and not in a flattering way. Ever since Kolkata Knight Riders splashed a staggering Rs 23.75 crore on him at the auction, questions have swirled over whether he was worth it. It was the third-highest bid of the season, behind only Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer, and would have topped the charts in most other IPL auctions.

Adding to the intrigue, KKR—fresh off their title win—chose not to retain captain Shreyas Iyer, only to buy him back for Rs 10 crore. The move fueled speculation that Venkatesh was their preferred leader, sparking endless debates on social media. Under the weight of that attention, the all-rounder began to feel the pressure.

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After making an impression in the second part of the 2021 Indian Premier League, the left-handed batsman had a disastrous start to the 2025 tournament. As the runs dried up, the continual outside noise—rather than management or self-doubt—made the weight of his price tag intolerable. Venkatesh Iyer was forced to remove a few individuals from his contact list at one point.

"People who had these questions are not even on my contact list. So why do I have to even think about what they are thinking?" when asked about the criticism he received during the most recent IPL due to his price tag, Venkatesh Iyer, who last played for India in February 2022, told Sportskeeda.

In just 11 games this year, Venkatesh amassed 142 runs at a strike rate of 139. With the exception of a game-winning 60, he had little to show. There was no need for KKR to regularly deploy his bowling because of the Impact Player regulation.

The lanky all-rounder, however, is unconcerned with the criticism being directed at his price tag. “It’s my life, my game, my career. And it’s my team that has chosen to spend so much on me. So these things don’t faze me. See, for a boy who wanted to just play IPL cricket, even Rs 20 lakh would sometimes feel like a significant amount. And over the years, this is what I’ve learnt. Not just me, but all the cricketers have learnt this: there are a lot of eyes on you, but it’s important to know what to pay heed to. People who have had a direct impact on my life, I am answerable to only them," he said.

Despite being benched for a few IPL 2025 matches, Madhya Pradesh all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer maintains that the KKR management never lost faith in him. Venky Mysore, the CEO of KKR, actually tried his hardest to downplay the Rs 23.75 crore price tag.

"It’s not about just the money, it’s about where I fit in their scheme of things. Venky sir once told me something, which I felt made a lot of sense. He said, “At the end of the day, you are given 120 units to build a team. Once the team is built, it doesn’t matter how many units you have spent on what. It is a team that has been made now, that’s it," he added.

When asked what he learned from the previous season when KKR missed out on the playoffs, Venkatesh responded: "Yeah, I have taken the learnings, taken the positives, and whatever mistakes happened. But yeah, there were a lot of things that have come up that I feel hindered my performance. But all in all, good one or bad one, winning the trophy or not winning it, scoring 600-700 runs, that and all is different. It was a season full of learnings, and that is what is constant."