'I can contribute to Test match victories': Venkatesh Iyer stakes claim for red-ball debut despite long Team India exile
Venkatesh Iyer spoke in detail about his Team India aspirations ahead of the IPL 2025 season.
For Venkatesh Iyer, the last 12 months have been an eventful ride. The all-rounder produced a brilliant performance for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024, which helped the franchise lift the title after 10 years; even as he was released by KKR, the franchise puts its faith in Iyer, buying him back for a staggering INR 23.75 crore in the 2025 auction.
Throughout this time, Iyer was also a regular for his state side, Madhya Pradesh, and even as a comeback to Team India has eluded him so far, the 30-year-old has remained positive for a return. Ahead of the 2025 edition of the IPL, Iyer was named the vice-captain of KKR, and in a chat with RevSportz, the all-rounder expressed confidence over his abilities across all formats of the game.
“Definitely. If I know in my head that I've the skill to produce something… if I'm not able to do that, that will be a regret when I finish. Right now, I know that I can actually contribute to India's victories in Test matches as well. I can play T20Is and ODIs. If I can do that, there's no point in not taking the effort to do it. I want to give it my all,” Iyer said.
Iyer made his last India appearance in 2022, and has played two ODIs and nine T20I so far.
Domestic cricket is an achievement
Stressing on the competition in Indian cricket, Iyer insisted that representing a state team is also an “achievement” in the country, while insisting that anyone who gets a call-up after domestic performances will definitely perform in international cricket, too.
"Make no mistake, I feel playing in the domestic cricket itself is an achievement. To represent your state, and especially Bengal, MP… these are cricket states. The moment you get the Indian call-up… yeah, a few failures here and there are fine, but you will definitely do well (if you do well in domestic cricket).
“It's just a matter of few good performances, knowing where I stand in terms of batting, bowling, fitness. Once I do that, I would know the call-up is not far. I'm not thinking about the call-up, but I do think that if it happens, what am I supposed to do,” said Iyer.
