Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) roped in Venkatesh Iyer for a massive Rs 23.75 crore, much more than what they could’ve paid to retain him. Following the mega auction, Iyer had a poor season, scoring just 142 runs from seven innings. Ahead of the mini-auction, KKR released Iyer as they look to make major changes in the team. While not getting retained did not come as a surprise to Iyer, he criticised the impact player rule which has reduced opportunities for part-timers like him.
"I'm an all-rounder, but the IPL's impact player rule has reduced opportunities for part-time bowlers. With teams getting a sixth bowling option, players like Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, or me aren't bowling much,” Iyer told Cricktracker.
How much Iyer, Dube and Reddy have bowled in IPL before and after impact player was introduced?
In the previous season, Iyer did not get to bowl a single over. In IPL 2024, he bowled just one over and the year before he didn't bowl even one delivery. In IPL 2022, he bowled four overs in total. It was in his debut season, he bowled the most. From 8.3 overs, he claimed three wickets and had an economy rate of 8.11.
Iyer is not wrong about Shivam Dube either. While he bowled crucial overs in the T20 Asia Cup 2025, CSK captain whether it is Ruturaj Gaikwad or MS Dhoni, refrain from giving him the ball. In the previous season, Dube bowled just two overs. In IPL 2024, he bowled one over. In IPL 2023, he did not bowl at all. He was underutilised as bowler even before the impact player rule. When he represented Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), he claimed four wickets at an average of 18.25 in 2020.
Young Nitish Kumar Reddy made his IPL debut when impact player rule was already in place. In IPL 2024, he played 13 games and got to bowl in seven innings. In the previous season, he bowled in just three matches. He has bowled 23.1 overs in three IPL seasons so far and claimed five wickets.