"Is that the indicator that Venky will be released next year?" - Aakash Chopra on Venkatesh Iyer being left out of KKR's IPL 2025 loss vs SRH

Former India player Aakash Chopra has wondered whether Venkatesh Iyer's omission from the Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) playing combination in their IPL 2025 clash against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) implies that their vice-captain will be released ahead of the next auction. He noted that KKR might consider buying their big-ticket acquisition back for a cheaper price.

SRH set KKR a 279-run target in Match 68 of IPL 2025 in Delhi on Sunday, May 25. Ajinkya Rahane and company were bundled out for 168 in the chase, losing the game by 110 runs and dropping to eighth position on the points table.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener opined that Venkatesh's absence from KKR's playing combination indicates that they are considering releasing him after IPL 2025.

"The big news for me from this match was that they didn't play Venkatesh Iyer. He was in the impact substitute's list, but you didn't get him to bat. You got Manish Pandey and Angkrish Raghuvanshi to bat, and you played Ramandeep Singh and Rinku Singh. You played everyone, but you left Venky out," Chopra said (12:45).

"Is that the indicator that Venky will be released next year? You will release ₹23 crore, and then you may want to buy him back at a lesser price. That is a possibility, but I feel we have got an indicator for next year," he added.

KKR used Angkrish Raghuvanshi ahead of Venkatesh Iyer as the impact player in Sunday's game. The latter, who was bought for ₹23.75 crore at the IPL 2025 auction, aggregated 142 runs at an average of 20.29 in seven innings this season.

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"They score 270-280 for timepass" - Aakash Chopra on SRH's batting in IPL 2025 win vs KKR

Heinrich Klaasen scored a blazing century in SRH's IPL 2025 clash against KKR. [P/C: Getty]

Reflecting on SRH's batting, Aakash Chopra noted that last season's runners-up post mammoth totals easily when their batters fire.

"When Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen and Aniket Verma play well, what a team they are. They score 270-280 for timepass. When you score so many runs, you also win the game," he said in the same video.

The cricketer-turned-commentator praised Heinrich Klaasen for scoring the joint third-fastest century in Indian Premier League history.

"Heinrich Klaasen scored a 37-ball century, the joint third-fastest. He has equaled Yusuf Pathan. Chris Gayle, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, and then Yusuf Pathan and Heinrich Klaasen," Chopra observed.

Heinrich Klaasen smashed an unbeaten 105 off 39 deliveries in SRH's IPL 2025 clash against KKR. While Travis Head blasted 76 runs off 40 deliveries, Abhishek Sharma scored a 16-ball 32, with the duo adding 92 runs for the opening wicket in just 6.5 overs to lay the platform for a massive total.