Revealed- Why Venkatesh Iyer Is Not Playing Today's Match vs CSK?

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be eyeing a crucial win against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 57th game of the ongoing IPL 2025. It will be the last home league game for KKR this season, and they will be eager to end it on a winning note.

The defending champions also need to win the game to stay alive in the competition. They are currently at the sixth spot in the points table with three league games left and just cannot afford another slip-up.

Their fate is no more in their hands, and KKR will have to win their remaining games to have a chance of qualifying for the playoffs. KKR have already defeated CSK once this season and will be confident of doing a double on them.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

Also Read: Rohit Sharma sacked as India's captain; replacement picked

KKR to face CSK without Venkatesh Iyer

While KKR will be desperate to win the upcoming match against CSK, they will have to do it without one of their key players - Venkatesh Iyer. Speaking at toss, captain Ajinkya Rahane revealed that Venkatesh Iyer would miss the game.

The southpaw is unavailable for the game because of stitches on his hand. He has been replaced by Manish Pandey in the KKR playing eleven.

"Lots of learnings from the previous match, guys are looking forward to this game. You are bound to lose close games, but you need to be confident. If there's a chance, we will try to give our best. Venkatesh Iyer misses out, Manish Pandey comes in," said Rahane.

Iyer was the costliest buy for the Kolkata Knight Riders

While Venkatesh Iyer has been a key member of the KKR team for years now, he has not been able to live up to the expectations in the ongoing season. After being bought for a whopping amount of INR 23.75 crore in the last auction, the left-handed batsman has not managed to justify the huge price tag.

In 11 games so far, he has scored only 142 runs, including a fifty. On the other hand, Manish Pandey will be playing his second game of the season. His only appearance this season came against the Mumbai Indians last month.

KKR Playing XI:

Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Moeen Ali, Ramandeep Singh, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy