Kolkata Knight Riders has been making bold moves intentionally by keeping Venkatesh Iyer in the franchise for IPL 2025, but the move has not yet yielded dividends. With the start of the season, the three-time champions let captain Shreyas Iyer go and then splurged on Venkatesh for an astonishing ₹23.75 crore. This decision was met with raised eyebrows and the results haven't yet borne fruit for this gamble.

While he has been with KKR since 2021, he averages 31.57 with a strike rate of 137.12. This was last season's breakout season for him when he averaged 46.25 and struck 158.79. That was the time when KKR decided to spend almost 20% of its budget in him.

Venkatesh seems uncomfortable despite saying that he did not feel any pressure from the huge price tag. Luckily for him, the KKR management has backed its decision. With four league games remaining, the current captain, Ajinkya Rahane, has reiterated the team's faith in the left-handed player and believes he will soon get back into a groove.

Captain Rahane on Star Sports:

“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 franchisee in the past; he has won the matches for the team as well. It’s important from a management and leadership group point of view that we back him,”

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Rahane still holds on to the hope that the all-rounder will pull off at least one match-winning innings in the running games. Venkatesh has only mustered one fifty and double-digit scores in three out of seven innings. However, with Rahane's positive outlook, he believes that a turnaround is around the corner.

Rahane Added:

“He has been working really hard. People generally only see the results and the outcome. But the hard work which all the players are doing, that is really important. 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,”