When KKR grabbed Venkatesh Iyer for the huge Rs 23.75 crore at the IPL 2025 auction, many experts and fans were shocked.
While the reigning champions released IPL-winning captain Shreyas Iyer, they went ahead and bought back Venkatesh for big bucks
Halfway through the IPL 2025 season, the southpaw has struggled to make a consistent impact, and questions are now being raised about whether the pressure of the price tag is getting the better of him.
Former India pacer RP Singh has weighed in on the issue and gave a strong opinion on how KKR might not be making the best use of their most expensive player.
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Is the big price tag becoming a burden for Venkatesh Iyer?
Yes, that is what Singh believes is happening with Venkatesh Iyer in IPL 2025. After being bought for a huge Rs 23.75 crore by Kolkata Knight Riders, expectations were sky-high.
However, after eight games, Venkatesh’s performances have not matched the billing as he could only score 135 runs at an average of 22.5.
According to fast bowler, the amount spent on the southpaw could be in his mind. Instead of playing with freedom, Venkatesh might be overthinking his performances.
"What could be happening is that the amount of money he was bought for is playing on his mind. Maybe he’s thinking, 'I was bought for such a huge amount, I must perform and take my team to the championship'. That over-expectation might be creating pressure," said RP.
Did KKR make a mistake during the auction?
RP Singh claimed that KKR may have miscalculated when they spent heavily on Venkatesh. He said that the team perhaps saw him as a main player or even future leadership material when they bid so high.
"This is a slightly tough question because when a player is picked at such a high price in the auction, somewhere in your thoughts, you're considering him either as your main player or as a potential captaincy material," said RP.
"But here, he has turned out to be neither. So I feel that there has been a bit of a misjudgment from KKR during the auction, at the table during selection," he added.
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Despite the struggles, the ex-India star does not feel dropping the KKR batterat this point is a great idea as he has already gotten a good number of matches.
"You let go of your best captain, and now he's doing well captaining another team. So I don't think it's a great option to drop this player now. Because you've already given him a good number of matches. Dropping him isn’t really a solution," said RP.
Should KKR make Venkatesh Iyer open?
According to RP Singh, one way to get Venkatesh back in form is to push him back to the top of the order. The left-hander made his name for KKR as an opener initially.
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He said: "No, this isn't a bad idea. In fact, it's a good thought to reduce one foreign player and let Venkatesh Iyer open. I feel Narine should definitely be in the team because his batting performances become important at times.
"So maybe Venkatesh and Narine can open together, and they can bring in someone like Powell in the middle order to use his power-hitting there. So this option isn't bad at all."