Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Ajinkya Rahane defends Venkatesh Iyer after flop IPL 2025, says 'he was actually focusing on...'
Venkatesh Iyer.
New Delhi: Kolkata Knight Riders' poor IPL season, culminating in an eighth-place finish, was attributed by captain Ajinkya Rahane to subpar batting performances from key players such as Rinku Singh and Andre Russell. While the bowling performed adequately, Rahane stated that the underperformance of three or four key batsmen significantly hampered the team's success. This follows their heavy 110-run loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday.
'It's just that for us as a team, three-four guys were out of form. Where we faltered was at the batting end. As a batting unit, collectively, we couldn't do well,' Rahane said during the post-match media interaction.
'Unfortunately, two-three players were going through that phase for us. And that was the reason we couldn't do well…But again, they are pretty much experienced enough to handle this situation.
'I'm sure they will come back stronger next year…Rinku (Singh), Raman (Ramandeep Singh), all the players, they will learn from the mistakes and come back stronger.' Key players from KKR's 2024 championship-winning team, including Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Rinku, and Ramandeep, underperformed this season, negatively impacting the team's results.
Sunrisers Hyderabad's impressive 278/3, the third highest IPL total ever, fueled by Heinrich Klaasen's rapid century, secured a comfortable victory over Kolkata Knight Riders, who were bowled out for 168.
Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) season was significantly hampered by earlier losses. A defeat against Punjab Kings while chasing a modest 112 runs, and a close four-run loss to Lucknow Super Giants while chasing a challenging 239, proved particularly detrimental to their overall campaign.
Their season was hampered by two rain-affected games, resulting in a 5-9 win-loss record.
'See, this season, I think for us, (it has been) kind of an up and down. We had our moments. We had our chances and I said that earlier also during those matches, as a unit, we didn't play well, really well,' Rahane said.
'But again, this format, that's how it goes, you know…the Punjab Kings game, LSG game and also the CSK game, I thought those two-three games could have been slightly different.
'It's not easy when you win a championship and, you know, come into the next season, defending the championship, it's not that easy. As a team, we tried our best. What I can say is, we'll come back really stronger next year.' Rahane said the pressure of expectations may have affected the batters' performance.
'When you have a couple of good seasons, as an individual, you put a lot of expectation on yourself. You put pressure on yourself. And I feel that was the case for most of the batters, to prove, you know, that how good I am. And it is completely natural.
'I'm sure our players, will learn from the mistakes. It's a lot to learn from this season, as a team. Not for any particular individual, but for everyone. So many learnings from this season.'
KKR's use of their Right To Match card to retain Venkatesh Iyer for ₹23.75 crore was a significant event, making him the team's third highest-paid player.
Rahane rejected claims that the player's cost affected their performance.
'Someone's not going to work doubly harder if he's getting Rs 20 plus crore, or someone's not going to work less harder when he's getting one, two, three crore, whatever it is.
'…your attitude doesn't change on the field. You know, that's what matters. As a player, you only focus on the controllable things. And I felt Venkatesh Iyer was actually focusing on the controllable things,' he reasoned.
'I thought his attitude was fantastic. One off season, that can happen to any player. So it's not about the price tag. I don't think he was thinking about his price tag at all. But just one of those seasons that we had to go through.'
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