Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star Venkatesh Iyer said he considers himself an all-rounder and he wants to show the world that he can fulfill roles both as batter and bowler after KKR’s three-wicket win over Delhi Capitals in a contest in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2021).
Iyer has been excellent so far with the bat and played a significant role in Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) revival in the ongoing second leg of the IPL 2021 in the UAE.
The left-hander has so far scored 126 runs in 4 games for the KKR. Apart from his aggressive batting, Iyer is also a handy seamer and he proved it on Tuesday, September 29, taking 2 wickets to help KKR restrict DC to 127 in Sharjah.
However, the 26-year-old couldn’t contribute much with the bat against DC, as he was dismissed for 14 by Lalit Yadav, but Nitish Rana’s unbeaten 36 along with notable contributions from Shubman Gill (30) and Sunil Narine (21 runs, 2/18) helped KKR to chase down the total inside 18 over in Sharjah.
Iyer told KKR teammate Rana in a video posted by IPL on Twitter: “I am an all-rounder and I want to tell the world that I can do roles as both batsman and bowler. When skipper Eoin Morgan handed me the ball, I was just focusing on the first six balls. Obviously, I had the thought of bowling three or four overs, but initially, I just focused on bowling the six balls perfectly.”
He added, “I was looking to defend against Shimron Hetmyer and Rishabh Pant. I was focused on shutting the boundaries down. I am happy that I was able to execute it.”
Meanwhile, Rana told Iyer: “I knew Shubman Gill was there, he and I thought of taking the game deep. These conditions suit me, I never thought the game was slipping away from us. I did not panic at all. Sunil Narine came in and I told him that we are just two-three hits away from winning.”
He signed off by saying, “He nodded and I knew he was in his zone. He took Kagiso Rabada on and I figured that he was in the zone and Narine was able to capitalize.”
Noteworthy, KKR will next lock horns against Punjab Kings on Friday (October 1) in the IPL 14.
(With ANI Inputs)
