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Player Name
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Venkatesh Iyer
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Nicknames
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Venky
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Birth Place
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Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
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Height
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6 feet (183 cm)
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Jersey Number
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25
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Team(s)
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India, Kolkata Knight Riders
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Family
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Wife- Shruti Raghunathan (Fiancee), Son- None, Daughter- None, Father- Rajsekaran Iyer, Mother- Usha Iyer, Brother- None, Sister- Priya Rao
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Zodiac
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Capricorn
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Education
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Graduated
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Cars
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Toyota Fortuner
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Networth
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Rs. 16 crore
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Salary
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BCCI- Nil, IPL- Rs. 8 crore
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Instagram Link
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www.instagram.com/venky_iyer/
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Facebook Link
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www.facebook.com/venkateshiyer.fb/
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Twitter/X Link
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www.x.com/venkateshiyer
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"A Hard-Hitting top-order batsman"- Venkatesh Iyer can be truly justified with these words with his ability to smash runs at a high strike rate. Venkatesh Iyer is another Indian player who rose to the spotlight in the Indian Premier League.
Venkatesh Iyer is a left-handed batsman. Although he gained popularity as an opening batsman for KKR at the start, he has also shown the ability to play in the top or middle order. He can also bowl right-arm medium pace.
Hence, Iyer is one of the rare medium-pace batting all-rounders in Indian cricket. However, Iyer focuses more on batting and has only bowled on rare occasions in IPL.
Early Life and Career
Venkatesh Iyer was born on December 25, 1994 in Indore City of Madhya Pradesh. He was initially part of the Railways Cricket Team but was captured by the Saurashtra domestic team later.
After continuous success in domestic cricket, he was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2021 season. With a fantastic show in his debut season, he also earned an international call-up in the same year. However, he failed to cement his place in the national side after playing a few games.
International Career
Venkatesh Iyer made his international debut in November 2021 against New Zealand. Notably, due to Hardik Pandya's ouster with injury at that time, Team India needed a medium-pace all-rounder. Iyer filled that spot well.
During a short stay on the national side for a few months, Venkatesh Iyer was picked in both ODIs and T20Is. However, due to his ineffective show in IPL 2022, he failed to make a comeback later. Also, with Hardik Pandya's return to the national team, Iyer became a second fiddle for a medium pace all-rounder.
Notably, the left-handed batsman was quite impressive during his short stay in the national team. He averaged 33+ in 7 T20I innings with 3 unbeaten knocks. He also clinched 5 wickets in 4 games at 8+ economy.
IPL Career
Venky made his IPL debut in the 2021 season. Notably, KKR gave a miserable show in the first half of the season, which was halted due to the COVID-19 outbreak. During the second half, Iyer was picked as an opener.
With his hard-hitting batting show, he helped the side to reach the final where they finished as runners-up. Since 2021, Iyer has been part of Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL and has been a regular member of the playing 11. Iyer also holds the record for an IPL century.
