Follow UsVenkatesh Iyer, who was bought for INR 23.75 crore by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, has not been included in the XI in their game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on May 7 (Wednesday). In fact, he does not even find a place among the impact subs.
KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane said that Iyer is not playing as he has a bunch of stitches on his hand. Iyer has been underwhelming in the tournament so far, having managed 142 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 139.21. He has also hit just one fifty in the tournament.
Manish Pandey, who made just one appearance in the tournament before this, comes into the XI. His only appearance in IPL 2025 came against Mumbai Indians (MI) at Wankhede Stadium on March 31, in which he scored 19 off 14.
Despite Iyer's poor show, KKR still have their fate in their own hands as far as qualifying for the playoffs is concerned. They are currently in sixth spot with 11 points from as many matches.
KKR's opponents, CSK are out of contention to make it to the top four. They have also made a couple of changes with Shaik Rasheed and Sam Curran missing out. Devon Conway and Urvil Patel come in, and the latter makes his IPL debut. He was previously with the Gujarat Titans (GT) in 2023, but did not get a chance to play a game
It was KKR who won the toss and decided to bat first in the 100th game at the Eden Gardens.