Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan praised India and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer ahead of the mega Indian Premier League (IPL 2022) auction, saying the youngster will be a hot pick if he enters the auction next month.
All the teams are working towards preparing their retention lists for IPL 2022. With the deadline being November 30, Pathan said that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) can't afford to not retain Iyer, as he feels the franchise might not be able to get him back once he goes into the auction.
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Notably, the 8 existing IPL teams can't retain more than 3 Indian players (capped or uncapped), while they can't retain more than 2 overseas players, while the two new teams – Ahmedabad and Lucknow – will only be allowed to pick players after the retentions are announced.
Pathan told Star Sports: “The third one will be in Shubman Gill. He was in the leadership group a couple of years ago, that's what they said. And the 4th one, yes you need to think about Varun Chakravarthy or Nitish Rana but I would go for Venkatesh Iyer. If that guy goes in the auction, because of his ability to bowl a couple of overs, he will be a hot pick. You might not be able to get him back.”
Notably, Venkatesh impressed one and all with his performance in the second leg of the IPL 2021 in the UAE, where he scored 370 runs and picked up 3 wickets to help KKR reach the final.
He also made his international debut for India in the recent T20I series against New Zealand at home.
Meanwhile, Pathan also feels KKR will retain both West Indians, Sunil Narine, and Andre Russell, despite their issues with fitness and form in the recent past, but doesn’t think they will retain their captain, Eoin Morgan, due to his poor form with the bat.
The commentator further opined, “Both, you want to keep them both. I know they are not at the peak of their careers, I know KKR would be thinking of Lockie Ferguson. He is really, really good with the new ball, old ball, bowling those yorkers. He would be my first pick if I have to choose between him and Pat Cummins. I think he is quality.”
He signed off by saying, “But when it comes to Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, they are quality players, I know their fitness hasn't been up to the mark, their performances haven't been up to the mark but you need to give them another 2 years. They were part of the winning team a couple of times.”
(Star Sports inputs)
