“Not Answerable” – Venkatesh Iyer Clears Contact List After Tough IPL Season
After a tough IPL 2025, Venkatesh Iyer responds to price-tag criticism, removes contacts, and says he’s answerable only to those who matter.
Venkatesh Iyer’s record-breaking price tag was the talk of IPL 2025, and not always in a flattering way. Bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹23.75 crore in the mega auction, the all-rounder faced intense scrutiny, especially as KKR let go of title-winning skipper Shreyas Iyer and bid only up to ₹10 crore for him.
The speculation over whether Venkatesh was signed as a potential captain added to the chatter. But when his form dipped, just 142 runs in 11 matches at a strike rate of 139, with only one notable knock of 60, the noise became deafening.
It reached a point where the 30-year-old removed certain people from his phone contacts. “
“People who had these questions are not even on my contact list. So why do I have to even think about what they are thinking?” he told Sportskeeda.
Iyer, who last played for India in February 2022, said he never let the price tag bother him.
“It’s my life, my game, my career. And it’s my team that has chosen to spend so much on me. For a boy who just wanted to play IPL cricket, even ₹20 lakh was huge once. I’m answerable only to people who have had a direct impact on my life.”
Despite being benched for a couple of games, Iyer insisted KKR management always backed him. He recalled KKR CEO Venky Mysore’s words:
“At the end of the day, you are given 120 units to build a team. Once the team is built, it doesn’t matter how many units you have spent on what.”
Reflecting on the season, Iyer called it “a year full of learnings” despite KKR missing the playoffs. “Good or bad, winning the trophy or not, scoring 600 runs or not, that changes. Learning is constant,” he said.
