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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batting all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer had a torrid Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season. After a breakthrough IPL 2021 season, where he scored 370 runs in 10 games, Venkatesh only managed 182 runs in 12 runs, averaging just 16.55 runs in 12 games for KKR.
However, his dismal form has not affected his run with the national team, after Venkatesh was selected for the India squad for their upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa. But with Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Hardik Pandya returning to form in the IPL 2022, Venkatesh might himself on the bench for most of the series. However, the KKR star insists that he does not look at Pandya as competition but more of a player that he can learn from.
“Absolutely not. Hardik Pandya is a superstar of the game; it will be an immense opportunity for me to learn so much from him. He has won so many games for our country, and I hope he keeps doing so. I am taking it as a beautiful opportunity to learn and observe him. There is no competition between us, he is way ahead, and I would like to play alongside him,” Venkatesh said during an interview with Sports Tiger.
New entrants Titans have been exceptionally led by Pandya, who has scored 413 runs and taken four wickets in the eight innings in which he bowled. His captaincy has led GT to a top-place finish in the league stage.
Meanwhile, Venkatesh's poor form also led him to be dropped from the playing XI for KKR. He did return towards the end of the season, but only managed a miserly strike rate of 107.69. His strike rate in IPL 2021 was 128.47. Although KKR were not at their best given the star-studded team that they had made for IPL 2022, Venkatesh believes his team has the right number of players and will see an upturn in form in the upcoming season.
“I tried my best to perform well, and my process and approach were correct. I don't have any regret as I did whatever I could do. But, I'll confess that the results were a bit disappointing as they didn't come in our favour. But we are hopeful that we will do well in upcoming seasons as we have the right set of players in our squad,” he said.
