Robin Uthappa. | (Credits: Twitter)
With seam-bowling all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer unexpectedly fetching a hefty amount of ₹23.75 crore in the IPL 2025 auction from Kolkata Knight Riders, former IPL great Robin Uthappa justified the same. Uthappa took to his official account on X, claiming that it is the level of loyalty that wins championships.
Venkatesh had first emerged in the second half of IPL 2021, playing some impressive knocks as an opener for the Kolkata Knight Riders. The 29-year-old had a stellar 2024 edition and played an integral role in the Knight Riders’ title win, hammering 370 runs in 15 matches at 46.25 alongside a strike rate of 46.25. He slammed an unbeaten 51 against the SunRisers Hyderabad in the first qualifier and 58 not out against the same opponent in the final.
Taking to X, Uthappa wrote:
“Overpriced?? Maybe!! But this is the level of loyalty that wins championships!! There is silent msg that goes around the group with this kind of a buy!! Well done @KKRiders.
The other players bought by the Knight Riders are Anrich Nortje, Quinton de Kock, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
“This guy deserves all the credit in the world for the way he has been working for this franchise” – Venkatesh Iyer massively credited Abhishek Nayar
After winning the title for the Knight Riders in IPL 2024 in Chennai, Venkatesh massively credited assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, claiming that his contributions don’t deserve to go unnoticed.
“Really happy with it. As Varun mentioned, Abhishek Nayar deserves all the credit in the world. Some contributions go unnoticed, I want to make sure they don’t. This guy deserves all the credit in the world for the way he has been working for this franchise. This win is for the fans who turned up year after year and waited for ten years.”
