From No.6 to opener, the how Venkatesh Iyer from KKR transformed
A former wicketkeeper in India and a well-known coach on the domestic circuit, Chandrakant Pandit still remembers the day when he decided that the lanky, bearded Venkatesh Iyer would open the innings for Madhya Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament last season.
Until then, Iyer was a number six batsman and even he was reluctant when he got the call to go against the new ball but Pandit was convinced.
“He was reluctant, but the way he bats, I felt he has something to change the game. I had done a similar move with Yusuf Pathan in a West Zone game. He too had never opened but I made him do that because somewhere that ability gets wasted down the order,” Pandit told.
Pandit put the youngster at ease by assuring him that he won’t be dropped even if he fails as an opener.
“I told Iyer that even if he gets 0 in the next five games, he will still retain his place in the side.” That turned the tide, and Iyer hasn’t looked back since.
Pandit also suggested a batting tweak that has proved to be a game-changer for Iyer.
“He has a different bat speed and plays with power. Earlier, his bat used to come a lot higher, from above his head. I told him that in domestic cricket, he won’t face any problem but at a higher level, it will create a problem. So now his bat comes from near waist height,” Pandit added.
On Thursday, while opening the innings for Kolkata Knight Riders he made a quick-fire half century (53 off 30) against Mumbai Indians to follow up on his unbeaten 41 against RCB. Before being under the IPL spotlight, Iyer was making waves on the domestic circuit.
“He was in two minds about his next step. He was eager to continue cricket and decided to continue with the sport and felt job offers can wait for now. He is very clear in his thought process, which is rare in this generation. His clear head helps him to make the right decisions. He has a plan B, which is his job going ahead,” Rajan said.
He has juggled to keep both plans at play. Like, this one time, on the day of an internal exam during his MBA, his state team was playing a practice game against Chhattisgarh. He decided to do both. He finished the exam and went straight to play the game. That game proved crucial as he hit a hundred and got a call to represent Madhya Pradesh’s Ranji Trophy team. He also cleared that exam.
Pandit said Iyer was getting a touch frustrated during the first leg of IPL as he was benched. ”He called me and said sitting outside was getting tough. I told him you will learn from sitting out, so wait, wait for your chance,” Pandit said. And when it came, he has launched the white ball and himself into the public imagination.
