India captain Rohit Sharma called the rising cricketer Venkatesh Iyer a bright prospect for the national team. Venkatesh got to make his debut for Team India in the just-concluded three-T20I series against New Zealand.

Rohit has also confirmed that the Madhya Pradesh cricketer will be kept in the setup for future series. Venkatesh was named in the T20I squad after a terrific outing in the IPL 2021 for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

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"The plan is to keep in the mix as much as we can. At the same time, we need to give him a role in the batting order. For his franchise, he bats up the order, which might be difficult for him here, and so we have given him a role to bat at probably five, six, or seven and see if he can do the job for us," said Rohit in the post-match press conference after the third T20I.

Venkatesh scored 4, 12*, and 20 runs in the three matches, and picked up 1/12 in the final T20I; the only match he got to bowl. Rohit liked the clear mindset and positive approach by the all-rounder in the last T20I.

"Today he looked quite composed for whatever time he was out there, clear in his mindset and he had a very good approach. You saw his bowling skills as well. He looks like a very bright prospect for us. He has got the skills in terms of bowling as well.

"It is just about giving him that confidence, making him play as much as we can and see if he can deliver for us. It is still very early days, he has played only three games and not had much of an opportunity to make an impact. But going forward, we will definitely keep an eye on him," said Rohit.

Venkatesh played the second phase of the IPL 2021 in UAE and scored 370 runs at an average of 41.11, as KKR reached the final of the season.