IPL 2025: 'Can't ignore my Rs 23.75 Cr price tag'

Kolkata Knight Riders star all-rounder and newly appointed vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer on Thursday said he cannot ignore the scrutiny surrounding his Rs 23.75-crore price tag but is determined to fulfil his responsibilities rather than letting the weight of expectations affect him.

IMAGE: Venkatesh Iyer believes that once the IPL begins, the numbers won't matter anymore. Photograph: KKR/X

The left-handed batter, who also bowls occasional medium pace, earned a staggering Rs 23.75 crore deal -- more than 11 times his base price -- as KKR went all-out and used their RTM card following a fierce bidding war with Royal Challengers Bengaluru to bring him back.

"Obviously, you can't ignore it altogether. It exists. Wherever I go, I get asked about it," Iyer said at their pre-season media interaction at Eden Gardens.

"So, it is existent, right? But for me, it's about absorbing it and still trying to fulfill the responsibility that has been given to me."

IMAGE: Venkatesh Iyer said he cannot ignore the scrutiny surrounding his Rs 23.75-crore price tag. Photograph: KKR/X

However, Iyer believes that once the IPL begins, the numbers won't matter anymore.

"But when the IPL will start, it really doesn't matter. You are a part of a playing XI. You are a part of a team that is going out there to win," he said.

"It really doesn't matter for what price you were picked or what is expected out of you. If you are taking the field for a side, you will be expected to do well. And to do well, I feel, it's not just the number of runs that you score or the number of wickets you pick.

"It's about how you carry yourself on to the field. And are you able to fulfil the responsibility that has been given to you? And see, again, pressure is always there, irrespective. If not the price tag, it will be something else," he said.

IMAGE: Across 50 IPL matches, Venkatesh Iyer has amassed 1,326 runs, including a century and 11 half-centuries. Photograph: KKR/X

"It will be selection, it will be batting in multiple positions, bowling, fielding, everything. The pressure will still be there. But I think it's up to me how I absorb that pressure," added Iyer, who has been a mainstay in KKR's batting lineup since his debut.

Across 50 IPL matches, Iyer has amassed 1,326 runs, including a century and 11 half-centuries. In 2024 IPL, he played a crucial role in KKR's title-winning campaign, scoring 370 runs at an impressive average of 46.25 with a strike rate of 158-plus.