Name: Venkatesh Rajsekaran Iyer
Venkatesh Iyer is a left-hand bat and right-arm medium bowler showcasing his all-round skills who plays for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL and represents Madhya Pradesh at the domestic level and has played for Madhya Pradesh Under 16 team. In ODIs, Venkatesh Iyer has played 2 matches, scored 24 runs and taken no wickets. In T20Is, he has participated in 9 matches, accumulating 133 runs and claiming 5 wickets. His first-class cricket record comprises 20 matches, where he has scored 1132 runs and taken 15 wickets. In List A cricket, across 43 matches, he has scored 1458 runs and secured 23 wickets. Finally, in T20 cricket, he has played 107 matches, scoring 2427 runs and taking 42 wickets.
He made his Twenty20 debut for Madhya Pradesh against the Railways cricket team at Holkar Stadium in March 2015. He made his List A debut against the Saurashtra cricket team at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in December 2015.
Iyer made his first-class debut for Madhya Pradesh in the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy on December 6, 2018.
During the 2021-22 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Iyer finished as Madhya Pradesh's top scorer with 155 runs at an average of 51.66. In the 2021-22 Vijay Hazare Trophy, he scored 379 runs at an average of 63.16 with a strike rate of over 133, batting in the lower middle order. He became the first batsman to score 150 or more while batting at number six or lower in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He also took 9 wickets in six matches during the tournament.
In February 2021, Iyer was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL auction for 20 lakhs ahead of the 2021 Indian Premier League.
On September 20, 2021, upon resumption of the IPL in the United Arab Emirates, Iyer made his IPL debut against Royal Challengers Bangalore. In that year he scored his maiden IPL fifty against Mumbai Indians.
Iyer emerged as a key player for KKR for the rest of the tournament, scoring 370 runs at an average of 41 and a strike rate of 129. He was named player of the match in the second qualifier and scored another half-century in the final, where KKR finished as runners-up.
On April 16, 2023, Iyer scored his maiden IPL century against Mumbai Indians, scoring 104 runs in 51 balls. He became the second batsman to score a century for KKR after Brendon McCullum in the first match of IPL 2008, 15 years ago.
Iyer was asked to stay back in UAE as a net bowler for India's 2021 ICC T20 World Cup squad.
In November 2021, he was named in India's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for their series against New Zealand. He made his T20I debut on November 17, 2021, against New Zealand at Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
In December 2021, Iyer was named in India's One Day International (ODI) squad for their series against South Africa. He made his ODI debut on January 19, 2022, against South Africa.
In January 2022, he was named in India's T20I squad for their series against the West Indies, where he played all three matches, playing a finishing role in the lower middle order, scoring runs at a strike rate of 179.24. He also picked up two wickets in the series.
Venkatesh Iyer made his ODI debut on 19 January 2022 against South Africa at Paarl.
In June 2022, Iyer was named in India's squad for their T20I series against Ireland.
Venkatesh Iyer has been retained by the Kolkata Knight Riders since 2021 and has maintained a salary of 8 crores since 2022 to the current edition of IPL.
