Released from KKR, out-of-favour star batter scores unbeaten 118 with ODI-like strike rate in Ranji Trophy 2024-25

Madhya Pradesh's middle-order batter Venkatesh Iyer scored an unbeaten century against Bihar on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 clash at Moin-ul-Haq Stadium, Patna. Venkatesh who was recently released by defending Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batted with an ODI-like approach as he hit 11 fours and four sixes before the end of Day 1's play. 

Madhya Pradesh captain Shubham Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first. Yash Dubey (21) and Himanshu Mantri (41) got off to decent starts but lost their wickets to Sachin Kumar. Rajat Patidar missed his half-century as he was dismissed by Shabbir Khan. Patidar hit eight fours in his 49-ball 45. Harpreet Singh Bhatia could not play a big knock either ande got knocked over by Himanshu Singh. Venkatesh walked in to bat when Madhya Pradesh were 147/4 in 45th over.

At tea break, Venkatesh was batting on 31 from 44 balls. Shubham had reached his half-century. He accelerated and reached his century from 101 balls. At Day 1, Stumps, Venkatesh was batting on 118 from 113 balls. On the other end, Shubham was batting on 134 from 182 deliveries including 11 fours and a six. Madhya Pradesh's are dominating the proceedings with 381/4 on the board from 88 overs.

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Venkatesh's IPL numbers

Venkatesh was not among the list of six players retained by KKR. despite scoring 370 runs from 13 innings in the previous season. He scored at an average of 46.25 and strike rate of 158.79. He scored four fifties for KKR and played a vital role in their title win after a decade.

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Venkatesh set for a big payday

Venkatesh has opted for a base price of Rs 2 crore. He will be a hot property in the auction. KKR won't be able to rope him back in via Right to Match (RTM) card as they have exhausted their retention spots. In IPL 2022 auction, he was picked for Rs 8 crore by KKR.

KKR retained players -

Rinku Singh (INR 13 crore), Varun Chakravarthy (INR 12 crore), Sunil Narine (INR 12 crore), Andre Russell (INR 12 crore), Harshit Rana (INR 4 crore), Ramandeep Singh (INR 4 crore)