Follow UsWhen Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bought Venkatesh Iyer in the mega auction before the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for 23.75 crore, there was quite a significant hullabaloo around the hefty price tag.
After all, Iyer isn’t a regular in the Indian team or has built a reputation for being amongst the top batters of the IPL to demand a price like that. However, auction dynamics combined with KKR’s affinity for the left-handed batter and the value he had brought to the side in the previous seasons made him one of the most expensive players in the league’s history.
As it turned out, the people who doubted the price were onto something because Iyer has failed to be the fulcrum of KKR’s middle-order batting, which he managed to be in the 2024 season, when KKR lifted the trophy. He scored 370 runs at an average of 46.25 and a strike rate of 158.8.
In the 2025 season so far, he has only scored 135 runs in six innings of IPL 2025 at an average of just 22.5 and is striking at 139.2. His out-of-rhythm batting was a big impediment in KKR’s chase against the Gujarat Titans, as he played 19 deliveries but scored just 14 runs in a chase where his team needed to score at 10 runs/over.
In fact, Iyer’s innings was so poor that it was his slowest ever knock in T20s, as he played with a strike rate of just 73.68.
Iyer’s feet were too adamant as he tried a lot to manoeuvre the ball and get the innings going, but he could score only five runs in his first 10 balls after coming in to bat in the sixth over at number four with the score being 43/2.
Getting off to quick starts has been a big problem for Iyer this season. He is striking at only 98 in the first 10 balls in IPL 2025, compared to 171 in IPL 2024.
Despite Ajinkya Rahane trying his best from the other end and scoring regular boundaries, Iyer failed to score a single boundary and was dismissed in the 12th over, with KKR needing 115 runs in 51 deliveries after that.
As it turned out, Iyer’s slow knock had already sucked the momentum out of KKR’s chase at a crucial juncture and they failed to recover from there, losing the game by 39 runs eventually.
With this loss, KKR now have only three wins in eight games and their playoff qualifications are in serious jeopardy. They need to win a majority of their remaining games.
Iyer’s poor form is a big reason behind the side's dire situation. We can't say with certainty if the price tag is pulling him down or not. However, his failures this season will definitely be highlighted more because of the hefty money attached to his name.