IPL 2022: "He's been up and down the order too much" - Aakash Chopra dissects Venkatesh Iyer's batting struggles

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra believes Venkatesh Iyer's lack of returns with the bat in IPL 2022 boils down to changing his batting position continuously. Chopra also thinks that the all-rounder has potential and it's too early to pass judgements.

Contrary to the previous edition, Iyer has struggled in the ongoing season with the bat. KKR's dwindling campaign mirrored his own, managing 126 runs in eight innings at 18, striking at 102.43. Furthermore, he has made only one fifty, which came against the Mumbai Indians.

Speaking on ESPN Cricinfo's Timeout, the 44-year old admitted that players have worked Iyer out. However, Chopra observed that the southpaw has batted in different slots since IPL 2021, including while playing for India.

He said that this created confusion about his role:

"I completely agree that there is data, there is analysis, and there's a lot of homework with regards to certain players, and he's a top-order batter. So that's one part of the story. But the second part is that since that fantastic season he's batted at 5 for 6 for his state side, for India, and now he's back to opening, so yes, while he's facing these form issues and found-out kind of issues, but the fact is that he's been up and down the order too much."

"Even now, KKR lost faith very quickly. So that's one side, that he's now maybe slightly confused in the head, 'what am I supposed to do, am I an opener or am I a finisher?"

Iyer's breakout season, where he scored 370 runs in ten matches for Kolkata, earned him a national call-up.

The 27-year old made his international debut in a T20 against New Zealand in November 2021. His first ODI appearance occurred against South Africa in January 2022.

Check out the IPL timetable here.

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"Let's not jump the gun" - Aakash Chopra on Venkatesh Iyer's retention

Venkatesh Iyer. (Image Credits: Twitter)

When asked whether the Knight Riders were right to retain Venkatesh Iyer, Chopra urged 'not to jump the gun' and make snap judgements. However, the cricketer-turned-commentator thinks they could have kept Shubman Gill and made him captain in the future.

Chopra added:

"There are two more seasons to go, two-and-a-half more seasons to go [before the next scheduled mega auction], so let's not jump the gun, and you can't always judge a decision based on how things are panning out. You do the best at that point in time, whatever you think."

"But I think, personally, they had a choice. They had a choice of paying a couple of crores more to Shubman Gill and retaining him, and then invest in him as maybe a long-term captaincy candidate."

Gill, who started his IPL career with Kolkata, now plays for the Gujarat Titans. He has scored 229 runs in eight games at 28.62, striking at 142.23.