“I’ve always thought that captaincy is…” Venkatesh Iyer drops a captaincy remark after getting picked by KKR for a whopping 23.75cr

Venkatesh Iyer after he Bought Back by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 23.75 crore at the IPL mega auction here, Sunday said finally, he will be “more than happy” to cope with the captaincy challenge and step into the shoes of Shreyas Iyer.

In what is the most shocking and boldest of moves, the Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise stopped from taking its 2024 IPL-winning captain Shreyas Iyer at the mega auction and went for all out bidding war against Royal Challengers Bengaluru to bag Venkatesh.

“I was given the opportunity to captain the side in the absence of Nitish Rana, sadly he got injured and I was the vice-captain as well,” said Venkatesh after the big purchase from KKR.

“I’ve always thought that captaincy is just a name, but the real leadership is creating an environment so that everyone feels they can play for the team and have something to contribute. If given responsibility, I would be more than happy to take it on. Absolutely (I’m ready for it).

“Together we will aim at defending the championship and carrying on our winning campaign. Thank you very much for selecting me in your squad,” he added.

Venkatesh has made nine T20I indents and two ODIs in representing India, making him the third-most costly buy at the IPL mega auction, just behind Shreyas (Punjab Kings, Rs 26.75 crore) and Rishabh Pant (Lucknow Super Giants, Rs 27 crore).

Such a hefty price tag has made him one of the biggest surprises of the auction held on Sunday and he has not yet had enough to thank the franchise.

“Thank You KKR for trusting me and showing so much belief in me. I am extremely elated to be part of Kolkata Knight Riders once again. I’m genuinely at loss of words, but I’m elated to be part of the KKR team once again,” said the 29-year-old.

“The KKR coach was also my coach in Madhya Pradesh. We also talked about the fact that I’m a little jittery coming back to KKR. But again, it says a lot about the franchise’s commitment toward winning championships and developing players-how much they value their players. I’m really excited to return to KKR and grateful they’ve extended that much faith in me.”

KKR CEO and MD Venky Mysore admitted that the team’s priority was balanced. “Core players, marquee additions like Quinton de Kock and Anrich Nortje,” he outlined.

“Auctions have always been unpredictable, types of players you want and how they fit into your strategy. Certainly, their prices have meaning within a certain band, but auctions often surprise you,” he said. “With salary caps increasing, that is bound to happen with prices as well. For us, retaining the core was the most important aspect. We retained six players and brought back three from last year. That was the main objective.”