Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
The much-awaited T20 cricket league, Indian Premier League (IPL) is round the corner and a few teams, including Delhi Capitals (DC) and defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) haven’t yet named their skipper for the season. However, teams like Punjab Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) announced their captains for the upcoming edition, KKR and DC are still looking to pick the best from the lot.
Just ahead of the tournament, which is now less than a month away, Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, who was roped in by the franchise after being released ahead of the mega auction, opened up on leading the side. It is to be noted that Iyer was acquired for a sum of INR 23.75 Crore after an intense tussle with RCB at the mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
I’m ready: Venkatesh Iyer on leading KKR in IPL 2025
Speaking with ESPNcricinfo ahead of the tournament, Iyer hinted that he could be leading the franchise if given an opportunity. “Definitely, I'm ready. Again, I've always said this: captaincy is just a tag. I believe in leadership. That is a bigger role to play, being a leader,” Venkatesh told ESPNcricinfo.
“There's no ambiguity surrounding this. I'll definitely do it, if it comes my way. There is no reason not to do it,” he added. The India cricketer also added that he eyes to set an example as a leader if given the captaincy reins.
"You don't necessarily need the tag of a captain to be a leader in your dressing room. You need to set examples. You need to be a good role model, both on and off the field, which I am doing right now in Madhya Pradesh.I'm not the captain of the MP team, but my opinions are respected and I really love to be in an atmosphere where every individual — new or experienced, Rs 20 lakh, Rs 20 crore, whatever — you just need to have the freedom to voice your opinion," he continued.
“You just need to have the freedom to give opinions and give suggestions and them to be taken in the right spirit,” he further added. Ventakesh Iyer initially joined KKR in IPL 2021. During his playing days at KKR, the left-hander has scored 1326 runs in 51 matches.
KKR’s squad for IPL 2025
Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Mayank Markande, Anrich Nortje, Vaibhav Arora, Rovman Powell, Spencer Johnson, Manish Pandey, Luvnith Sisodia, Ajinkya Rahane, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, Umran Malik
