IPL 2025: KKR's most expensive buy Venkatesh Iyer pursuing PhD, soon to be called 'Doctor'

KKR's most expensive buy Venkatesh Iyer pursuing PhD, soon to be called 'Doctor'. (Photo: PTI)

After bagging a massive IPL contract with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) worth Rs 23.75 crore, Venkatesh Iyer has revealed he will be pursuing a PhD in finance and will soon be saluted as Dr Venkatesh Iyer. During the Indian Premier League mega auction last month, KKR bought Iyer for Rs 23.75 crore which made him the fourth most expensive player in auction history.

“I want cricketers to educate themselves not just with cricketing knowledge, but general knowledge as well. If you can complete your graduation or post-graduation, you definitely should. I am pursuing my PhD (finance) now. You will be interviewing me as Dr Venkatesh Iyer next time!" Venkatesh told The Indian Express in an interview.

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“I come from an orthodox family, so it is tough to convince middle-class parents that I will pursue only cricket. But it was the other way around. I was big on academics. My parents wanted me to do well in the game as well."

“If a new guy walks into the MP (Madhya Pradesh) team, the first thing I ask him is ‘Padhai kar rahe ho ki nahi?’ (are you studying or not?). Education will stay with you till you die, a cricketer cannot play till 60. You have to understand that there is a shelf life. After that, if you want to really excel in life, you have to be educated," he added.

Iyer, who holds an MBA in finance and even secured a job offer from Deloitte, chose to decline the opportunity to focus on his sporting career. He explained that pursuing a PhD aligns with his vision of making a "perfect switch" in the future while also enabling him to make more informed decisions on the field.

“Academics can give me the perfect switch-off from the game. I don’t want to be thinking of the game all the time, it adds pressure. If I can do two things at the same time, I will. Being an educated person, it helps me make better decisions on the field as well. There will be a situation when it won’t be just about the skill but whether you can make a better decision," he added.