'I'm ready' - Venkatesh Iyer opens up on KKR's captaincy role ahead of IPL 2025

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) highest buy, Venkatesh Iyer, is looking forward to the new season and the new opportunities that might come his way. KKR invested INR 23.75 crores in the player, which means that they might make him the captain. While talking about the captaincy opportunity, Iyer said that he is'ready' for any challenge that comes up. 

"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. There's no ambiguity surrounding this. I'll definitely do it if it comes my way. There is no reason not to do it," said Venkatesh Iyer, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo. 

The Knight Riders are the reigning champions of the tournament and will look forward to defending their trophy this year. However, the franchise hasn't declared their captain yet. The first game of the 18th season is between KKR and RCB on March 22. While KKR have won three titles as of now, RCB are yet to win any title in the tournament. 

My opinions are respected: Venkatesh Iyer

Venkatesh Iyer spoke about the respect he gets from the MP team whenever he voices his opinions during the team meetings. Iyer is an experienced player in the tournament, and giving him the captaincy might be the right choice for KKR. They also have Ajinkya Rahane in the team, who is leader material, but everything depends upon the management now. 

"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—just needs to have the freedom to voice their opinion. You just need to have the freedom to give opinions and give suggestions and for them to be taken in the right spirit," added Iyer.