IPL 2024 | Venkatesh Iyer could be a game-changer for the Kolkata Knight Riders: IPL history, batting style

IPL 2024 KKR team | Venkatesh Iyer IPL records: Matches: 36; Runs: 956; 50s: 7; 100s: 1; Highest score: 104; Strike-rate: 130.25; 4s: 86; 6s: 42. (Image source: X/@KKRiders)

Left-handed batter and right-arm medium pacer Venkatesh Iyer has grown better under the wings of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The 2018 master's in business administration (MBA) graduate who turned down a lucrative job offer to continue playing cricket, had joined the franchise with a salary of Rs 20 lakh.

Venkatesh Iyer turned heads in his first season by scoring 370 runs and guiding Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the final after a poor start in the first phase of the league matches. He hit four fifties and also picked up three wickets. The 49-ball 67 against Punjab Kings was his highest score in the season. Based on his IPL show, he received a national call-up. He made his T20I debut against New Zealand and ODI debut against South Africa in 2022. KKR retained Iyer for Rs 8 crore for IPL 2022.

Iyer scored his maiden IPL ton in the last season against Mumbai Indians in IPL 2023. Seventy-eight of the 104 runs he scored off 51 balls came in boundaries (six) and sixes (nine). He enjoyed a strike rate of 145.85 last season, better than his previous outings in the cash-rich league.

Overall, Iyer has seven fifties. He will be keen to add to this tally when KKR play their first match in IPL 2024 on Saturday, March 23.

The all-rounder will start the IPL after a decent first-class season with Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy, where he contributed both with bat and ball. KKR can trust Iyer to bowl a bit more in the 2024 edition of the league.

Venkatesh Iyer IPL records

Matches: 36

Runs: 956

50s: 7

100s: 1

Highest score: 104

Strike-rate: 130.25

4s: 86

6s: 42