 "'It’s my life, my career': Rs 23.75 crore KKR star makes bold statement after facing flak for not justifying price tag")
Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer frequently faces flak over not justifying the Rs. 23.75 crore price tag at which he was retained by the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise in the mega auction last year. Iyer, who emerged as the breakout star of the league in 2021, when he single-handedly inspired KKR to the final, has had ups and downs in his performance since then. He had a quiet 2025 season, which led to naysayers questioning his cost-benefit ratio.
However, the player does not get affected by the opinions of detractors and made it known that those who question him are not even in his contact list, a parameter he seemingly refers to before judging whether someone’s opinion holds any importance to him or not.
“People who had these questions are not even on my contact list. So why do I have to even think about what they are thinking?” Venkatesh Iyer told Sportskeeda.
“It’s my life, my game, my career. And it’s my team that has chosen to spend so much on me. So these things don’t faze me. See, for a boy who wanted to just play IPL cricket, even Rs 20 lakh would sometimes feel like a significant amount. And over the years, this is what I’ve learnt. Not just me, but all the cricketers have learnt this: there are a lot of eyes on you, but it’s important to know what to pay heed to. People who have had a direct impact on my life, I am answerable to only them,” he said.
KKR management still holds faith in Iyer
As KKR struggled to pull off victories in the IPL 2025, Iyer had to bear the brunt of it because of his price tag and was even dropped from the side on a couple of occasions. He featured in 11 games in the eighteenth edition of the IPL and was able to register just 142 runs. Despite a drop in form, the all-rounder from Madhya Pradesh insists that the KKR management still trusts him. Moreover, he reveals that KKR CEO Venky Mysore did his best to not let him get affected by the whopping price attached with him.
“It’s not about just the money, it’s about where I fit in their scheme of things. Venky sir once told me something, which I felt made a lot of sense. He said, “At the end of the day, you are given 120 units to build a team. Once the team is built, it doesn’t matter how many units you have spent on what. It is a team that has been made now, that’s it,” he added.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIyer focuses on the positives he was able attain from IPL 2025
While it was a torrid season for KKR, who started the campaign as the defending champions but ended up finishing eighth this time, Iyer was able to extract some positives out of it.
“Yeah, I have taken the learnings, taken the positives, and whatever mistakes happened. But yeah, there were a lot of things that have come up that I feel hindered my performance. But all in all, good one or bad one, winning the trophy or not winning it, scoring 600-700 runs, that and all is different. It was a season full of learning, and that is what is constant,” he concluded.
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