IPL 2024: "I’m really looking forward to working with him" - Venkatesh Iyer

Two times IPL title winning team Kolkata Knight Riders are all set to play under the new mentor Gautam Gambhir in the 2024 IPL season. The former KKR captain has returned to his previous franchise after leaving his position at the Lucknow Super Giants, which Justin Langer has taken.

However, Gautam Gambhir’s presence is expected to turn the table for the KKR side which has not done well in the past few seasons as well. Speaking ahead of the 2024 season, KKR all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer has shared that he is excited to play under the mentorship of Gambhir as well. In an interview given on the KKR website, Iyer stated that having Gambhir on the side will be a huge plus for them as well.

“Gautam sir coming back is going to be a huge plus for KKR. I’m really looking forward to working with him. Whatever conversations I’ve had with him in the past, he has always talked about creating an impact for the team’s goals rather than personal milestones. He is an amazing leader and I’m also excited to see the combination of him and Chandu sir (Chandrakant Pandit). Both are amazing tacticians and have the experience of winning trophies,” Venkatesh Iyer said in an interaction.

“I have got a lot of confidence in my skills” – Venkatesh Iyer

Notably, the all-rounder scored a century for KKR in the last edition of the IPL but he did not have a good time in the tournament overall as well. However, Iyer said that he is looking forward to a good season this time and also role with the ball as well.

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“The domestic tournaments help build confidence in executing your best balls under pressure situations. I have got a lot of confidence in my skills and once you’re confident about your skills, then the execution part becomes easy. Whenever the captain would want me to bowl an over or two, I’ll always be there. Shreyas has always had that confidence in me and he trusts that I can get the job done for the team in pressure situations,” Venkatesh Iyer again said.

However, Iyer scored one century and four fifties in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy. He also hit his century against Puducherry and his fifties against Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir as well. Iyer also picked 8 wickets in the tournament as well.

IPL 2024 Auction: KKR buy 10 players

However, KKR bought a total of 10 players in the IPL auction. The team gave the most money in the tournament’s history to Mitchell Starc. (Rs 24.75 crore). Other players are:

KS Bharat (Rs. 50 lakh), Chetan Sakariya (Rs. 50 lakh), Mitchell Starc (Rs. 24.75 crore), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (Rs. 20 lakh), Ramandeep Singh (Rs. 20 lakh), Sherfane Rutherford (Rs. 1.5 crore), Manish Pandey (Rs. 50 lakh), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Rs. 2 crore), Gus Atkinson (Rs. 1 crore), Sakib Hussain (Rs. 20 lakh).