Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) captain, Ajinkya rahanemade a stark remark about Venkatesh Iyer following the end of their campaign in IPL 2025.

Known for his calm and gentle behaviour, Rahane made the statement in the post-match conference following a crushing 110-run defeat at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday. Iyer was the third most expensive player of this season, with a price tag of INR 23.75 crore.

Ajinkya Rahane backs Venkatesh Iyer

On being asked that the expensive price tag may have impacted the performance of players, Rahane took Iyer’s side.

He emphasized that a player’s attitude on the field remains consistent regardless of their price tag. He pointed out that the key factor is focusing on controllable aspects of the game. Rahane expressed confidence that Iyer maintained his focus throughout the season.

“Someone’s not going to work doubly harder if he’s getting 20 plus crore, or someone’s not going to work less harder when he’s getting one, two, three crore.

Your attitude doesn’t change on the field. As a player, you only focus on the things in your and I felt Venkatesh Iyer was actually focusing on the controllable things, he worked really hard throughout the season,” Rahane stated.

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The KKR skipper also said that every player can go through rough patches and it can happen to anyone. He don’t think it’s about the price tag or even Iyer was thinking about the same.

But its just one of those season.

“Well, it is one of the seasons that can happen with any player. I don’t think he was thinking about the price but it those of the season we had to o through,” he added.

Venkatesh Iyer’s poor show with the bat in IPL 2025

Iyer’s batting performance in IPL 2025 fell short of expectations. Despite being one of the most expensive players this season, he struggled to make a significant impact with the bat. His inconsistent form and inability to convert starts into big scores put pressure on his team, KKR.

In 11 games he played, Iyer only managed to score just 142 runs at an average of 20, with include one half-century. Fans and experts hoped for better contributions from Iyer, but his poor show highlighted the challenges of living up to a high price tag in a competitive tournament like the IPL.