Cricket fans around the were left in shock when Kolkata Knight Riders announced their retention list on October 31. The franchise made some big decisions and excluded IPL 2024 title-winning captain Shreyas Iyer from that list. KKR decided to retain Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh.
Another glaring absence was Venkatesh Iyer, who has been a vital cog in KKR's XI for the past few seasons. Speaking to Revsportz, he praised KKR's retention list, and gave an explanation behind it. "KKR has had a very good retention. I think they have covered easily 14-16 overs and with the bat, they have almost covered five positions. So, they had a great retention but I would have loved to be on that list. KKR have given me a big breakthrough and I have given everything for KKR and beyond cricket, there’s something called emotion," he said.
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Venkatesh Iyer gets ‘emotional’
He also revealed that he was emotional when he learned that he hadn't been retained by KKR. "This is a family. There’s so much emotion. It kind of makes me teary-eyed that my name is not on the retention list but I am a practical guy. I understand how it works. I was on the receiving end of on being one of the retentions in 2022 and I knew how it feels to be retained and to be left out as well. So, I think KKR have had a great retention, really happy for that. I would love to be there and the doors are open. If I have a good auction then I might still end up playing for the team I love the most," he added.
{{/usCountry}}He also revealed that he was emotional when he learned that he hadn't been retained by KKR. "This is a family. There’s so much emotion. It kind of makes me teary-eyed that my name is not on the retention list but I am a practical guy. I understand how it works. I was on the receiving end of on being one of the retentions in 2022 and I knew how it feels to be retained and to be left out as well. So, I think KKR have had a great retention, really happy for that. I would love to be there and the doors are open. If I have a good auction then I might still end up playing for the team I love the most," he added.
{{/usCountry}}In IPL 2024, Venkatesh scored 370 runs in 15 matches. He was purchased by KKR in the IPL 2021 auction. He was a key player for them that season, scoring 370 runs at an average of 41 and 129 strike rate, as they finished as runners-up.
On April 16, 2023, he got his maiden IPL ton vs Mumbai Indians, smacking 104 runs in 51 balls, becoming only the second KKR batter after Brendon McCullum to get a century. McCullum did it in the first match of IPL 2008, 15 years ago.