2023 has been nothing less than a roller-coaster ride for Indian all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, who feels he still has a long distance to go before he can compete with someone like Hardik Pandya, whom he considers the best all-rounder in the Indian cricket team currently.
It has to be noted that, Iyer had a sensational rise after his brilliant run in the 2021 season of the Indian Premier League following which he received a call-up for the Indian cricket team. However, it has been more than a year now since he made his last appearance for the Men in Blue.
Venkatesh Iyer On His Comparisons With Hardik Pandya
He last played for team India in February 2022, during a T20I match against Sri Lanka. Ever since then, Venkatesh Iyer smashed Kolkata Knight Riders’ first century since Brendon McCullum did in the inaugural IPL season and also amassed 189 runs in the first four games of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year before he suffered an unfortunate injury as he broke his ankle after falling off the staircase at the team hotel.
But he has been working hard to regain his place in team India with an aim to improve his bowling. Speaking to Sportskeeda in an exclusive interview, Venkatesh Iyer spoke about competing with Hardik Pandya. He said:
“In India, there is a problem of plenty. And then when you look at Hardik, he’s got the skills to be India’s top all-rounder. And if I have to cement my place in the 11, I have to be as good as him, which I’m nowhere close to at this point of time. This is the honest truth and I have to accept that. But I’ll be working towards it. And once I’m confident of my bowling, then I think I can contribute in all the departments. It’s just about my bowling which I’m really working hard on.”
