Aakash Chopra, a former Indian cricket batter, thinks that Kolkata Knight Riders’ choice to bench Venkatesh Iyer for their last IPL 2025 group match against Sunrisers Hyderabad shows what they might be planning for next season. Venkatesh, who was bought for a hefty Rs 23.75 crore, was listed as an impact substitute but didn’t get a chance to play. In his YouTube analysis, Aakash suggested that this could mean KKR might let him go before next season and then try to bring him back at a lower price.
He pointed out, The big news from this match is that they didn’t play Venkatesh Iyer. He was on the impact substitute list, but they didn’t let him bat. They chose to play other guys instead. He went on to say that it’s possible KKR might release him and then aim to buy him back for less.
KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane mentioned that key players like Rinku Singh and Andre Russell didn’t perform well, which led to the team’s disappointing eighth-place finish this season. He said the bowlers did their job, but the batting not coming through from three or four main players really hurt their chances. After a tough 110-run loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rahane noted, “As a team, we just had a few guys not in form. We struggled with our batting overall.”
He added that during crucial times, a couple of players were underperforming, which affected the team’s success. But he believes they are experienced enough to deal with it and expects them to bounce back next season, saying, “I’m sure Rinku, Raman, and the rest will learn from this and come back stronger.”