OPINION
Follow Us“If you can’t change a man, just change the man”
The witty statement from the Kolkata Knight Riders’ head coach, Brendon McCullum came in the aftermath of his team’s defeat to Delhi Capitals in the first half of IPL 2021. Crestfallen by another listless performance from his side, McCullum’s words cleared that changes will be made.
Venkatesh Iyer, a 26-year old all-rounder from the unfancied cricketing lands of Madhya Pradesh, was a part of the Kolkata setup during this time. In his first IPL stint, he was signed at his base price of INR 20 lakh which tells you he was an unknown commodity. Kolkata, however, had identified him as a future star who could be best utilized as a top-order batsman. Unfortunately, they could not find space for him in an already stacked top-order.
The season stopped midway due to the outbreak of the second wave of Covid-19 but Kolkata’s dismal run had pushed Iyer ahead in the pecking order. He did well in the warm-up games leading into the second half. Consequently, world cricket heard a new name when Eoin Morgan announced the changes in the XI from their previous encounter more than four months ago.
The man had been changed and Kolkata’s dismal run in the first half is turning out to be pivotal in the current context of Indian cricket.
As Kolkata’s new opener, Iyer instantly struck a chord with the fans and the experts. In the first two games combined, he scored 94 runs off 57 balls. He had the intent McCullum was searching for. He is tall and unruffled by the reputation of the opposition bowler. He could pull. He could drive and did both with quite ease. But his decisive deal-breaking aspect was revealed in the subsequent two games. Iyer delivered an over of military medium-pace in his third game against Chennai Super Kings before going on to pick 2/29 in his four overs against Delhi.
Eyeing a youngster as a national team prospect after instant success in the IPL isn’t a healthy practice. But such are the recent dynamics of Indian cricket, that the emerging calls of fast-tracking Iyer in the Indian team’s setup didn’t seem ludicrous.
There was relief that the national team has a working option of a medium-pace bowling all-rounder, even if the bowling is nowhere close to be as dominating as that of Kapil Dev. In times when all-rounders of both types - one each to deliver pace and spin - have become a necessity, India only had the latter. The closest to the first category, Hardik Pandya had big question marks around his bowling due to multiple injures.
Hence, it was a natural progression, one out of desperation, when Iyer was picked as a reserve player for India’s T20 World Cup squad. In another impending sequence of events, he was thrown into the deep end right after the tournament - to showcase his credibility as Pandya’s replacement, even though the label was attached to him out of others’ desperation and no fault of his own.
****
"It's one thing to prepare your body, but another thing to train your mind and I've already accepted that I will be available for any role. I'm mentally prepared to give my 100% wherever they ask me to bat or bowl” - Iyer to Cricinfo in November 2021.
In a conflation of the circumstances at India and KKR, Iyer had to fulfill the expectations and do it while batting at number six. Before his international debut against New Zealand in November 2021, he had batted at six or lower several times for his state but without the pressure of replacing someone like Pandya. Despite all his heroics in the IPL, it was clear that he didn’t have Pandya’s audacious strokeplay or dynamism.
The hunt to force an all-rounder could have turned out to be a case of batting an individual out of his position, squandering a batting position in the process. The onus was on Iyer to justify the critical move.
Against West Indies - the second T20I series of his career - India didn’t miss a finisher with Iyer scoring 92 runs in three innings with two unbeaten knocks. His strike-rate is 184. In all three innings, Iyer walked in to arrest potential match-defining collapses.
In the first T20I, India had lost three wickets for 21 runs in a modest run chase. In the next two, the run-rate was experiencing a dip after impactful spells from West Indies spinners. T20 cricket is volatile and the situations on all three occasions demanded Iyer to be at his best.
An MBA holder in Finance, he showcased the balance between defense and aggression that is required from a finisher. In the first set of 10 balls across his three innings ie, 30 deliveries, Iyer struck at 160, with six fours and a six. Over the next 10 balls, 20 deliveries, the strike-rate went up to 220, hitting four fours and three sixes. His scores read 24* (13), 33 (18) and 35* (19).
He was severe on anything pitched short or on any attempts made at bowling wide at him. The heave over fine-leg of Jason Holder in the third T20I was one of the shots of the match, underlining his continued progress in the finisher role.
West Indies are far from being a perfect death bowling unit in T20 cricket but Iyer has corroborated that his finishing prowess can match the international standards. His 2/23 in 2.1 overs after Deepak Chahar hobbled off the field further establishes the value of fast-tracking him in the side. On his merry way, he can prove to be one of the most notable finds of Indian cricket of late.
****
Iyer’s success also reflects the patience of the new management. With all due respect, musical chairs was played more frequently than the warm-up football games in the Indian camp with the constant chopping and changing. Dropping Iyer after the unproductive series in South Africa would be far too easier.
By persisting with him, Indian cricket has now secured multiple options in a department that had earlier promised only eternal scarcity.
