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Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL

Venkatesh Iyer has turned heads overnight. People are talking about his fearless batting and the drives he hit against RCB, or the six he hit off Kyle Jamieson by stepping out of the crease. For people who only watch IPL, he was a new player from Madhya Pradesh who broke into the KKR side and played some good-looking shots. But Iyer is a lot more than that. He has an interesting history. To give you a bit of a hint, he is someone like Ravi Ashwin and Anil Kumble, the Engineers who turned cricketers.

Venkatesh Iyer was a bright student who did not have to put in a lot of effort to manage cricket and academics. "Honestly, I didn't have to put in a lot of effort to manage both. I'm not bragging, I've always been a bright student, I can't say the same about my cricket. That is the kind of confidence I have in my academics."

"Had there been no cricket, I would have landed in an IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) or IIM (Indian Institute of Management),” says Iyer. He even got a job with the "Big Four" accounting firm Deloitte, at their India headquarters in Bengaluru in 2018. But he let go of the offer and picked cricket. And here he is, playing in the biggest T20 League.

So, let’s get to know Venkatesh Iyer a bit better.

Name: Venkatesh Rajasekaran Iyer

Age: 26 years

Date of Birth: 25 December 1994

Hails from: Indore, Madhya Pradesh

Profession: Cricketer

Role: Batting All-rounder

Batting: Left Hand Bat

Bowling: Right Arm Medium

Teams played for: Madhya Pradesh U16, Madhya Pradesh, Kolkata Knight Riders

Debuts

T20 vs Railways Cricket Team, March 25, 2015

List A vs Saurashtra, December 11, 2015

First Class vs Hyderabad, December 6-8, 2018

IPL vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, September 20, 2021

Early Life

Venkatesh Iyer was doing great in academics and had no plans to professional cricket until her mom nudged him to take the sport. Iyer broke into the Madhya Pradesh state team in 2015 and has been a regular in the domestic circuit since then. However, his truncated 2020-21 season brought him into the limelight as he ended the white-ball season on a high. He was bought in the 2021 auction by KKR and now is playing for them.