Published: May 02, 2025, 06:53 PM (IST)
Edited: May 02, 2025, 06:53 PM (IST)
Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane admitted that their vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer is not performing well in the IPL 2025, but he believes that that Venkatesh is just one great knock away from proving himself for the team. Iyer has scored 28 runs in his last four outings, and has been facing a lot of backlash for his poor performance.
Venkatesh Iyer was the most expensive player for Kolkata at a massive amount of Rs. 23.75 crore. Rahane stated that KKR is backing their vice-captain as they are in a do-or-die situation. The team needs to win all their remaining four matches if they want to stay in the race for play-offs.
“Every player goes through that phase where he is trying his best, but the performance is not coming. He is a quality player. We all know that he has done well for the franchise in the past, (he has) won the matches for the team as well,” Rahane said.
“It’s important from the management (and) leadership group point of view (that) we back him. He has been working hard. People generally only see the results and the outcome. But the hard work which all the players are doing is really important,” Rahane added.
Ajinkya Rahane believes that he is close to score big, and might have a big outing within the next four games of the team.
“From my point of view, we are completely backing Venkatesh Iyer. He is just one innings away. You can probably see one good innings from him in the next four games,” Rahane said.
Kolkata Knight Riders are currently at the seventh place in the points table, as they have won just 4 matches (8 points) out of their 10 matches, and have their next match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on May 4.
