Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star Harbhajan Singh has shared a piece of important advice for the two-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions on how to retain the services of their star performer Venkatesh Iyer.
Under the leadership of white-ball skipper Shreyas Iyer, former champions KKR capped off a forgetful season in the IPL 2022. KKR had failed to qualify for the IPL 2022 playoffs as the KKR franchise finished 7th on the points table.
Venkatesh Iyer emerged as the breakout star in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League, however, he had a season to forget last year. Iyer failed to fire for the KKR in the IPL 2022. But he was retained by KKR for INR 8 crore in the build-up to the mega auction last season. Venkatesh amassed 182 runs in 12 matches for KKR last season.
Former KKR star Harbhajan Singh feels the KKR should not part ways with the rising star after he endured a mediocre season. Speaking on the Star Sports show – Game Plan, Harbhajan Singh said:
“They shouldn’t do an overall release. You should release him and get him back at a lesser price if possible because the player is destructive. We saw a short trailer in the seven or eight matches he played.”
Talking about his stint with KKR, Harbhajan said that the think tank of the franchise used to make sure that Iyer gets one or two overs during crunch encounters. He said:
“He played amazingly well and he played for India also based on those seven or eight matches. He also bowls along with that. I was surprised they didn’t get him to bowl last year (IPL 2022). When we were in Dubai along with him, we made sure that he bowls one or two overs when the match used to get stuck.”
Further, Harbhajan Singh pointed out that Iyer didn’t seem to be his fearless self in the IPL 2022. He said: “When a player bowls a few overs, his value increases. The player does not lack anything. I saw his mentality to be slightly different, that he didn’t bat that fearlessly.”
The former Indian spinner feels Chandrakant Pandit’s presence as KKR’s head coach should help the Madhya Pradesh cricketer’s cause. He stated: “I feel when Chandrakant Pandit comes there, who is also his coach, if he works a little bit on his mentality, then Venkatesh Iyer will be seen playing the same way again. But you can release him and buy him back at a lesser price, that could be a good option.”
