Venkatesh Iyer reveals Gautam Gambhir's strict 'personal milestones' message before IPL 2024

Star Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer has revealed the conversations that he has had with the newly-appointed mentor of the Kolkata-based franchise, Gautam Gambhir, ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.

The 2024 edition of the cash-rich league is all set to commence on March 22 with the opening clash seeing the battle between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Chennai. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be seen in action on March 23 when they lock horns with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Kolkata Knight Riders will be led by Shreyas Iyer in the tournament and Chandrakant Pandit is the head coach of the franchise. Before IPL 2024, KKR also made a huge appointment by roping in Gautam Gambhir as the mentor. Notably, the former India batsman served as the mentor of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) before moving bases to KKR.

Under Gambhir, Kolkata Knight Riders would be looking forward to ending their IPL trophy drought. The last time they bagged the IPL cup was in 2014 when the Gautam Gambhir-led side beat the Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in the final. The Knight Riders also won their first-ever IPL championship under the leadership of Gambhir in 2012 by defeating Chennai Super Kings in the final.

He has always talked about creating an impact for the team’s goals – Venkatesh Iyer on Gautam Gambhir

In an interview with the KKR website, Venkatesh Iyer expressed his excitement over working with Gambhir in IPL 2024. He also revealed that Gautam Gambhir always speaks about focusing on the team’s goals rather than personal milestones.

“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.

With the introduction of the impact player rule in the IPL, the role of all-rounders like Venkatesh Iyer has significantly reduced. However, Iyer said that he has confidence in his skills and is ready to bowl whenever his skipper demands.

“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 said.

Meanwhile, Kolkata Knight Riders acquired the services of the 10 players at the IPL auction which was held in Dubai. The biggest acquisition of the franchise was Mitchell Starc as they spent a whopping 24.75 crore on the pacer to make him the most expensive player in the history of the competition.