The reason that brought about a change in Kolkata Knight Riders' fortune in IPL 2021 was nothing else, but Venkatesh Iyer's inclusion in the team. KKR had gotten off to a horrible start in IPL 2021 and were languishing at the bottom of the points table before the tournament was postponed due to COVID-19. The second half of the season was played in the UAE, and it was Venkatesh Iyer who changed KKR's fortune single-handedly. Playing his maiden IPL season, Venkatesh Iyer scored four half centuries as KKR bounced back emphatically from the bottom half of the table and made it to the final. Even in the final, Venkatesh Iyer played a superb knock, however, once the openers were dismissed, KKR collapsed and lost the game by 27 runs. Due to his impressive performance in the UAE, Venkatesh Iyer was also picked by the Indian team, but the all-rounder failed to make a mark at the highest level. Even in IPL 2022, Venkatesh Iyer failed to impress as his average dropped to 16.55. The only fifty Iyer scored was against Mumbai Indians, but the southpaw couldn't repeat his heroics on Indian grounds, like he had done in UAE. Kolkata Knight Riders will be hoping Iyer finds back his form in IPL 2023. Will be interesting to see if he bats as an opener or play in the middle order for the Knights.
