Venkatesh Iyer’s poor season ended in the worst way possible as he was dropped for Kolkata Knight Riders’ final fixture of the Indian Premier League season on May 25, Sunday.
Although it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the defending champions crashed to a 110-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad, not featuring in the final game of the season would have stung the lanky southpaw.
After the big defeat, KKR slipped to eighth in the table as they bow out of IPL 2025 on a disappointing note.
Message for fans
Earlier today, May 27, Iyer penned a short note to KKR fans on social media as he captioned a carousel of his images from IPL 2025 with, “Hard season. Big hearts. Lessons we’ll carry forever.”
Sunday’s fixture was not the first time Iyer was dropped, as he was also not included for the signature clash against the Chennai Super Kings on May 7 at the Eden Gardens.
Iyer put on a poor show at IPL 2025 after being roped in for big money at the start of the season for Rs.23.75 crore.
The left-handed batsman featured 11 times for KKR this season and scored a disappointing 142 runs at an average of 20.29 and a strike rate of 139.22.
Iyer on his way out?
As KKR decided to drop Iyer for the final fixture on the back of a lacklustre season, commentator Aakash Chopra felt the defending champions threw a hint they were releasing the Madhya Pradesh batsman.
Chopra, on his YouTube channel, said, “The big news for me from this match was that they didn’t play Venkatesh Iyer. He was in the impact substitute’s list, but you didn’t get him to bat. You got Manish Pandey and Angkrish Raghuvanshi to bat, and you played Ramandeep Singh and Rinku Singh. You played everyone, but you left Venky out.
“Is that the indicator that Venky will be released next year? You will release ₹23 crore, and then you may want to buy him back at a lesser price. That is a possibility, but I feel we have got an indicator for next year,” he added.
Release and re-sign?
While franchises typically don’t make any movies this early before an upcoming season, especially with one more week left of IPL 2025, the signs are ominous for Iyer.
South African Quinton de Kock and West Indies’ Sunil Narine have cemented their spot as openers for KKR, and the franchise will need to free up money for the mini auction leading up to IPL 2026.
This could potentially mean the three-time IPL winners could release Iyer to the mini auction and buy him back at a cheaper price, as indicated by Chopra.
Stay updated on all the action from the IPL 2025. Check the IPL 2025 Schedule, track the latest IPL 2025 Points Table, and follow the top performers with the Orange Cap and Purple Cap.
