Venkatesh Iyer fires back at his IPL price tag, says 'doesn't matter if its Rs 20 lakh or Rs 20 crore...'
Kolkata Knight Riders splashed a whopping Rs 23.75 crore to secure Venkatesh Iyer at the IPL mega auction, the cricketing world went into a frenzy. The price tag made him KKR's most expensive player ever and the third costliest buy in the league's history.
But after scoring just 9 runs in his first two outings this season, murmurs turned into full-blown debates—was he really worth the money? However, his innings against Sunrisers Hyderabad was enough to show the class player that he is.
Iyer has finally opened up on the costly buy and the pressure it builds on players like him.
«I won't lie, there is a little pressure. You guys talk so much,» Iyer quipped at the post-match press conference. «But being the highest-paid player (in KKR) does not mean I have to make runs in every match.»
«It's about how I am winning for the team and what impact I am able to make. The pressure is not about how much money I am getting or how many runs I have to make. That's never been the pressure on me,» he said firmly.
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And he backed those words with action, smashing a scintillating 60 off just 29 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad to silence his doubters and power KKR to a dominant 80-run win.
When asked if the weight of his price tag had finally been lifted, Iyer fired back with a cheeky counter-question: «You tell me? The pressure will be released when… I keep saying this: After starting the IPL, it doesn't matter if you're getting 20 lakh or 20 crore. I'm a player of the team who wants to contribute to the team's victory.»
His response is a clear message to critics dissecting every failure—he’s here to make an impact, not just pile up runs.
«Sometimes there will be very tricky situations where my job will be to play