Follow UsAmidst all the discussion of Kolkata Knight Riders’ new skipper, Madhya Pradesh all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer has declared himself ‘ready’ to take the responsibility ahead of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
"Definitely. Definitely, I'm ready," Iyer said in a chat with ESPNcricinfo recently. "Again, I've always said this: captaincy is just a tag. I believe in leadership. That is a bigger role to play, being a leader.
KKR haven’t yet announced their captain for the upcoming season after letting go of Shreyas Iyer ahead of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction. As it turned out, Iyer became the second costliest player in IPL history and was named Punjab Kings’ skipper. They are one of the two franchises yet to name their captain ahead of IPL 2025, alongside Delhi Capitals, who are rumoured to name Axar Patel as their skipper for the new season.
"You don't necessarily need the tag of a captain to be a leader in your dressing room. You need to set examples. You need to be a good role model, both on and off the field, which I am doing right now in MP,” Iyer said.
“I'm not the captain of the MP team, but my opinions are respected, and I really love to be in an atmosphere where every individual - again, new or experienced, 20 lakhs, 20 crore, whatever - you just need to have the freedom to voice your opinion. Or you just need to have the freedom to give opinions and give suggestions and them to be taken in the right spirit.”
"I've always wanted to be that person. And if captaincy comes my way, I would definitely want to do it. There's no ambiguity surrounded to this. I'll definitely do it, if it comes my way. There is no reason not to do it."