'Venkatesh Iyer would have had great IPL 2025 if he played for RCB': Coach Andy Flower

Venkatesh Iyer and Andy Flower (Reuters Photo)

Venkatesh Iyer had great ambitions for IPL 2025. He was purchased for a whopping Rs 23.75 crore at the IPL mega auction, which witnessed an intense bidding war between eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and his current franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Straightaway after being roped by the KKR, Venkatesh revealed ambitions of leading the team as the spot was vacant after Shreyas Iyer's release from the franchise. While he was not named the captain, which went to Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh was named his deputy.

However, the season turned out to be completely south for the 30-year-old as he failed to meet expectations considering the massive investment. After an underwhelming show in the inital phases, KKR started using him as an Impact Substitute, and he was later completely dropped from the side. The all-rounder accumulated 142 runs from 11 matches at an average of 20.29. He managed one half-century, while his strike rate was 139.21. His other skill set of bowling slow medium pace was not utilised at all by the franchise, which does paint a picture of how disastrous IPL 2025 was for Venkatesh.

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However, RCB coach Andy Flower expressed the story would have been completely opposite if Venkatesh played for RCB. “We really rated Venky (highly), that’s why we went so hard for him. It was because we valued having a strong Indian core to our team. We wanted some exciting young cricketers and a left-hander in the top order. We didn’t get him. I would like to think if he played for us, he would have had a really great season,” the former Zimbabwe wicketkeeper-batter told ESPNCricinfo.

It would be interesting to see if KKR continue to show faith on the player or release him heading into the next edition. KKR, who were the defending champions, finished eighth after managing five wins from 14 encounters. In addition, twice the team were forced to split points with the opposition due to poor weather conditions leading to abandonment of the match.