Will Venkatesh Iyer Lead KKR In IPL 2025? Star All-Rounder Says THIS

The upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season will start on March 22 and the Final will be played on May 25. The 74 matches of the season will be played across 13 venues and will include 12 double-headers.

The IPL 2025 season will start with the clash between defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 22.

However, the reigning champions KKR are yet to announce their captain for IPL 2025. Shreyas Iyer had led KKR to the title win in IPL 2024, but he was acquired by Punjab Kings in the mega auction and later named him as their skipper.

Ahead of the start of the IPL 2025, all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer has said that he is prepared to lead Kolkata Knight Riders if given the opportunity despite having no captaincy experience at any levels in competitive cricket.

Notably, Venkatesh, who joined the KKR in 2021, was released ahead of last year’s auction but was bought back for a hefty Rs 23.75 crore.

“Definitely, I’m ready. Again, I’ve always said this: captaincy is just a tag. I believe in leadership. That is a bigger role to play, being a leader,” Venkatesh told ESPNcricinfo.

“There’s no ambiguity surrounding this. I’ll definitely do it, if it comes my way. There is no reason not to do it,” he added.

The 30-year-old Iyer feels that the captain needs to “set an example” by being a “good role model”.

“You don’t necessarily need the tag of a captain to be a leader in your dressing room. You need to set examples. You need to be a good role model, both on and off the field, which I am doing right now in Madhya Pradesh,” he added.

“I’m not the captain of the MP team, but my opinions are respected and I really love to be in an atmosphere where every individual – new or experienced, Rs 20 lakh, Rs 20 crore, whatever – you just need to have the freedom to voice your opinion.

You just need to have the freedom to give opinions and give suggestions and for them to be taken in the right spirit,” he added.

Venkatesh has scored 1,326 runs in 51 IPL matches, all for the Knight Riders.