IPL: Future tense for Venkatesh Iyer in KKR; Pant set to get a longer rope

The dye has been cast for the 2025 IPL play-offs a little earlier this season, what with six matches still to go as of Friday’s game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Mumbai Indians became the fourth team on Wednesday night to join  Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings in the top four – and the point of interest can now be which teams finish in the top two and which one ends at the bottom of the barrel.

 Under the circumstances, a key talking point is the speculation over the future of the two most expensive flops for the 2026 season – Rishabh Pant and Venkatesh Iyer. The Lucknow Super Giants captain, who commanded the highest ever price tag in IPL of Rs 27 crores, had been nothing short of a disaster as a batter and it certainly reflected in his captaincy. If the 2022 finalists have six wins to show from 13 matches so far, a lot of credit for that goes to a number of their overseas stars like Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram.

Venkatesh Iyer, who had been one of the key performers behind  Kolkata Knight Riders’ title-winning campaign last year, was bought back for Rs 23.75 crore ahead of Shreyas Iyer (Rs 26.75 cr), clearly looked bogged down by the pressure of his price tag.  The tall left-hander, who was initially in the running for captaincy of the Knights, eventually became the vice-captain but produced poor returns of just 142 runs from 13 matches at an average of 20.29 and a strike rate of 139.22, crossing the fifty mark just once. Just ponder – the top rungetter for the side has been skipper Ajinkya Rahane with 375 runs, who was an afterthought in the mega auction at a price tag of Rs one crore.

What also exposed the lack of Return on Investment (RoI) for Venkatesh is that he was not utilised at all as a seam-up bowler, not bowling a single delivery this season. The grapevines have it that while the Madhya Pradesh batter may be traded or released by KKR after just one season in the new cycle, Pant will get a longer rope from LSG owner Sanjeev Goenka.

The industry baron who looked disillusioned as Pant failed to come good in match after match, had earned enough bad vibes in the media for his open admonishment of the then skipper K.L. Rahul in 2024, which was caught in camera by the official broadcasters. There have been enough precedents of captains, senior players or support staff being at the receiving end of the owners’ ire in IPL, but Goenka – who runs a hugely successful football franchise in Indian Super League – has now been almost singled out in the social media for a scrutiny of his reaction to Pant or team’s performance.

The KKR management, meanwhile, is reported to be ringing in some key changes in the support staff as well as the name of former England white ball captain Eoin Morgan – a Knight for multiple seasons - is doing the rounds as a possible replacement for head coach Chandrakant Pandit. The 63-year-old, who completes a three-year term with the Purple Army this year, has been found wanting in his man management of the star players (read: overseas cricketers) – and looks like on his way out.

Rishabh Pant had a nightmarish run with the bat

There are a number of other players, especially in under-achieving franchises, whose continuity with their respective teams are also under threat. A conspicuous name among them is Mohammed Shami, the senior fast bowler,  was bought for Rs 10 crore by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the mega auction but collected just six wickets in nine appearances this season at an economy 11.23, respectively. There are talks if the ageing Shami is no longer the same bowler after his ankle injury during the 2023 ICC World Cup, though the SRH management is unlikely to take a hasty action on him.

RCB’s Liam Livingstone, meanwhile, has scored just 87 runs in seven outings this season at a strike rate of 128 and has picked up just two wickets with his leg spin – something which hasn’t given his franchise a strong reason to retain him after acquiring him for 8.75 crore in the mega auction.

Meanwhile, the eyes of the cricket world will again be fixed on MS Dhoni and whether he makes himself available for the Chennai Super Kings next year – when he will be 44 years. It had been a miserable season for him as a batter and stand-in captain with celebrated finisher finding himself unable to bat beyond the last three-four overs of the innings and often batting as low as No 9.

However, unlike any other cricketers, the final call rests on the man himself and not the management. ‘’It’s ultimately his call about what MS wants to do next season but he will be a part of CSK. All we can say is the moment is Ruturaj Gaikwad gets his captaincy back the moment he returns,’’ Kasi Vishwanathan, the CSK CEO told National Herald in a recent interview.

 Well, that sums it up for now…