Venkatesh Iyer on his readiness for a leadership role in KKR believes that he is ready to lead the defending champs.
Venkatesh Iyer is “definitely ready” to captain Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in case the job is offered to him.
The reigning champions, who will play Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the opening IPL 2025 match on March 22 at Eden Gardens, have not yet announced their new captain. They released Shreyas Iyer, who took over as captain of Punjab Kings (PBKS).
KKR has not yet revealed their new captain, but Iyer, who was repurchased for a record INR 23.75 crore (roughly US$ 2.83 million), is rumoured to be among the front-runners, along with former India star Ajinkya Rahane.
“Definitely. Definitely, I’m ready,” he said in a chat with ESPNcricinfo recently. “Again, I’ve always said this: captaincy is just a tag. I believe in leadership. That is a bigger role to play, being a leader.
“You don’t necessarily need the tag of a captain to be a leader in your dressing room. You need to set examples. You need to be a good role model, both on and off the field, which I am doing right now in MP. I’m not the captain of the MP team, but my opinions are respected and I really love to be in an atmosphere where every individual – again, new or experienced, 20 lakhs, 20 crore, whatever – you just need to have the freedom to voice your opinion. Or you just need to have the freedom to give opinions and give suggestions and them to be taken in the right spirit.
“I’ve always wanted to be that person. And if captaincy comes my way, I would definitely want to do it. There’s no ambiguity surrounded to this. I’ll definitely do it, if it comes my way. There is no reason not to do it.”