IPL 2021: “Venkatesh Iyer was going to play the next game in India” - Brendon McCullum reveals fascinating story about KKR opener

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) coach Brendon McCullum has revealed that opener Venkatesh Iyer was scheduled to play the franchise’s eighth match in India during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. However, destiny had other plans, as the tournament got postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before the match could take place.

Iyer eventually made his debut in the UAE leg, and cracked a refreshing 41 not out off 27 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Abu Dhabi. The 26-year-old went from strength to strength, finishing IPL 2021 with 370 runs in ten games at a strike rate of 128.47.

The left-hander scored a half-century in the final against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Friday. But that wasn’t enough to stop KKR from plummeting to a 27-run defeat. Speaking about the decision to play Iyer this season, McCullum said at a post-match conference:

“Venkatesh Iyer has been quite an incredible story. Looking back, he was actually going to play the next game when we were in India. In a funny way, the break came there at a good time too. It gave him an opportunity to just get another couple of months of cricket under his belt, to understand that his opportunities weren’t too far away.”

Hailing Iyer as a special talent, the KKR coach admitted that the left-hander's aggressive intent at the top was key in the franchise’s stunning turnaround in fortunes in the UAE. McCullum said:

“For him, it was a matter of bringing the game he owns - the Venkatesh Iyer game plan - to the table, which is an aggressive intent. He’s a big presence; he’s a tall man. He plays the game with a cavalier kind of streak. It’s so important he holds on to that."

"He will be challenged to change his methods at times too. He might not necessarily be the most consistent because of his flamboyancy. I hope he remains the Venkatesh Iyer that we have seen so far. He’s got an enormous future in this game, and he’s a very intelligent man. He was a big catalyst for our turnaround this season.”

Iyer and Shubman Gill (51) added 91 for the opening wicket against CSK in the final. However, once Iyer perished, KKR stumbled to 165 for 9 in a stiff chase of 193.

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“Weren’t able to get real impact through our middle-order players” - KKR coach

KKR openers Iyer and Gill (478 runs) had an impressive run for the team. Rahul Tripathi (397) also chipped in with valuable contributions. However, the middle and lower order failed to contribute much, reason why KKR experienced many batting collapses.

Asked whether the middle-order woes dented KKR’s chances during the tournament, McCullum replied in the affirmative, saying:

“I think it is a fair assessment. Our bowling group did a really good job. We fielded well and our top-order batting was superb. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get the real impact through our middle-order players. There’s a lot of experience there, and they will be the first ones to admit that they didn’t have the greatest of tournaments. Unfortunately, it happened among all the middle-order (batters).”

KKR captain Eoin Morgan had a disastrous run in IPL 2021, managing a mere 133 runs in 17 games at a strike rate of 95.68. Dinesh Karthik also had a poor tournament, contributing 223 runs in 17 matches.