Practical' Venkatesh waits for his chance to win games for RCB
BENGALURU: Venkatesh Iyer is a very practical person. It's very easy to come to that conclusion. He himself says it but it's also reflected in his approach to life and career.
In 2024, he was an IPL champion with Kolkata Knight Riders. He could do no wrong. In 2025, after the franchise signed him back for `23.75 cr, he couldn't produce the same numbers.
KKR released him. Just the life of an IPL player. Royal Challengers Bengaluru signed him for `7 cr. For a few players, it can be hard to process this reality. When you ask the 31-year-old how he processed it, his answer was laced with humour but he holds no grudges. "There will be days when you think if 'I had a good year last season, my bank account would go up by another `24 cr' (smiles)," he says. "That's the obvious thought, right? But you are signing up for it.
Patidar stakes claim for a place in India T20 squad
BENGALURU: THERE has been a growing clamour for Shreyas Iyer to be called up to the T20I squad. Not without reason. Shreyas has not only been dazzling but his overall package — leadership qualities on and off the park and how he has marshalled a youthful side filled with uncapped Indians — has won him a lot of admirers. So much so that he may be a leading contender to be India's next captain in the shortest format.
The Mumbaikar is in position A1 to make the XI and it won't be any surprise if he finds his name in the upcoming T20I assignments to Zimbabwe, Ireland and England. That he was included in Grade B in the Board of Control for Cricket in India's latest contracts list tells you how highly the current regime rates him even if he has featured in only six games across formats in the last year.
As part of the same queue to make the XI is Rajat Patidar. Like Shreyas, he's also a middle-order hitter who gets going from the first ball. Like Shreyas, he also captains an IPL franchise. And their teams are currently first and second in the standings and look odds on to face each other in the first qualifier later in the season. This isn't just recency bias even if delivering Royal Challengers Bengaluru's first ever IPL title in 2025 is a handy line to have in your resume while waiting outside the selectors' door.
