New Delhi. Venkatesh Iyer wants to play continuously in the playing eleven of Royal Challengers Bangalore, but he understands the needs of the team and is happy that the management has clearly explained his role to him. Venkatesh, who was a part of Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL 2024 victory, joined RCB before IPL 2026, but has played only one match so far because it is difficult to make a place in the top and middle order of the team.
Venkatesh Iyer told the media, ‘It is not my habit to sit and watch the match, but there is a team environment and I keep the team above all else, so it is my responsibility to follow that environment.’ Venkatesh knows that RCB will hesitate in making changes in their team because last year the same combination had won them their first IPL trophy.
It is not easy to enter the playing eleven
Venkatesh Iyer said, ‘We are the defending champions, so changing the combination that made you champion is not always the right decision. I am new in the team, so it is my responsibility to know what role I can play. The credit for this goes to Mo (Bobutt), Andy (Flower) and DK (Dinesh Karthik). He has spoken very clearly about my role. Yes, sitting outside is difficult, to be honest you cannot prepare for it. But this does not mean that I am not in their plans. It is a question of when I will play, not whether I will play or not.
It is important to keep yourself motivated
RCB bought 31-year-old Venkatesh for Rs 7 crore in the IPL 2025 auction, whereas earlier KKR had bought him for Rs 23.75 crore. Like the decline in his price, the opportunities to play matches in RCB have also reduced, but Venkatesh’s motivation has not reduced. He said, ‘It is not easy, but it is very important to stay motivated because you can quickly get frustrated and stop working hard. I train my mind in such a way that I am ready to play every match.
Emotional connection with Kolkata
Anything can happen due to the Impact Player rule. Also, I always think about making myself better than yesterday. Not only in cricket, but in life also I see where I am. The last few years have been good, now I am married, have a family, so all this motivates me. Does KKR have any regrets about dropping him? He said, ‘I spent a lot of time in KKR, learned a lot. If I say there is no emotional connection, it would be a lie. There was a good conversation between me and Abhishek Nair (KKR coach), he told what the team needed. If it’s good for the team, I can do anything.
Surprised by Patidar’s power hitting.
Praising DK and Patidar, Venkatesh said, ‘I have learned a lot about T20 batting from Karthik. The most important thing is to remain flexible in batting. He is just making me work on batting, how to understand the situation, how to stay ahead of others and become smart with hard work. RCB captain Rajat Patidar, who is Venkatesh’s teammate during his MP Under-19 days, is very impressed by Venkatesh’s simplicity. He said, ‘Rajat’s biggest strength is his simplicity in thinking and batting. People are surprised by his ability to clear boundaries, but actually it is his simplicity. He is also tough. I haven’t seen him change over the years, he is the same old Silver whom I loved in the Under-19s.
UPGRADING RED BALL SKILLS
It is not easy to improve the red ball game in IPL net sessions, but that is what Venkatesh is doing. He said, ‘I get bored sitting in the room, so I don’t want to spend much time there. I feel that I have not paid much attention to my red ball bowling, so I talk to players who have played a lot of red ball cricket. Last year (in KKR) I had Mitchell Starc, this year I have Josh Hazlewood. So my conversation with him is on improving red ball bowling.
