Delhi: The journey of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ended very badly in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Defending champion KKR was defeated by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 110 runs in the match played at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Sunday. With this defeat, the KKR points finished eighth in the table.
Disappointing for Venkatesh was IPL 2025
This season KKR was being counted among the contenders for winning the trophy. However, the poor performance of many players disappointed the team. Players like Venkatesh Iyer, Ramandeep Singh, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Harshit Rana did not live up to expectations. The biggest shock was that of Venkatesh Iyer, who was bought by the team for ₹ 23.75 crore in the mega auction.
Iyer scored just 142 runs in 11 matches. His average was 20.29 and the strike rate was 139.22. He did not play the last few matches of the season due to injury. Now it has to be seen whether the team retains them next year or not.
KKR captain defended
KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane defended Venkatesh. He said that the pressure of money was not affecting his performance.
Rahane said, “A player should not get more than 20 crores or 1-2 crore, his attitude should not be changed on the field. The player focuses only on the things that are in his hand. Iyer was also working hard. He tried to give his best in every match.”
He further said, “3-4 players of our team were not in form. That is why we could not do well. But Venkatesh’s attitude was very good.”
The captain also said that due to getting more money, no player works hard and no player stops working hard. He said, “The cricketer does what he is in his hand. Iyer was always trying to contribute something for the team. Whether on the field or outside the field.”
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(Tagstotranslate) Ajinkya Rahane (T) IPL 2025 (T) SRH vs Kkr (T) Venkatesh Iyer