Venkatesh Iyer life has changed after his magnificent performance in the second leg of IPL 2021. Venkatesh was hardly known before the tournament, and now he is on the verge of making his ODI debut against South Africa. The left-handed batter has already represented India in the game’s shortest format.
He amassed 370 runs in 10 IPLmatches at a strike rate of 128.47. In an interaction on chat show Backstage with Boria, the batting all-rounder revealed how the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) played a key role in making him a hero from zero.
“Huge thanks to KKR. Had it not been for KKR, I wouldn’t have been anywhere. I had a decent outing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali last year, and KKR scouted me, and they picked me in the auction after I went unsold twice,” he said.
Iyer scored 227 runs in five games for Madhya Pradesh at a strike rate of 149.34 during the 2020-21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Iyer lauded the Kolkata franchise for making him feel part of the squad even though he didn’t feature in any game in the first half. “I didn’t get a chance in the first half, but thanks to KKR for believing in me. I was always there in the mix,” he added.