IPL 2025 mein Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ke vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer abhi tak apne form ko leke fans ko disappoint kar rahe hain. Wankhede Stadium mein Mumbai Indians (MI) ke khilaf match mein KKR sirf 116 runs pe all-out ho gayi, jahan aadhi team sirf 45 runs pe hi pavilion laut gayi thi.
Piyush Chawla, jo 2014 mein KKR ke IPL title jeetne wali team ka hissa the, ne Venkatesh Iyer ki approach par sawal uthaye. Unhone kaha ki Iyer baar-baar “fancy shots” try kar rahe the bina pitch aur conditions ka khayal rakhe.
“Kabhi-kabhi conditions ko respect karna padta hai. New ball ke saath pitch batting-friendly nahi thi. Thoda sambhal ke khelna chahiye tha, aur phir jab ball purani hoti to shots maar sakte the. Par yahan aisa kuch nahi hua,” Chawla ne kaha.
“Sabko pata hai ki Trent Boult swing kar sakta hai. Usne clearly Narine ke against plan banaya tha aur wo kaam kar gaya. Venkatesh bhi pressure mein dikh rahe the — ₹23.75 crore ka price tag asar kar raha hai,” Chawla ne JioStar pe kaha.
Venkatesh Iyer sirf 3 runs pe out ho gaye, aur season ke pehle match mein bhi unka score sirf 6 tha. Deepak Chahar ki ball pe unhone edge deke wicketkeeper Rickelton ko catch diya. Iske alawa, Rinku Singh ka bhi dismissal unnecessary laga Chawla ko, jab unhone short ball pe shot khela bina innings ko stabilize kiye.
“Rinku ke paas achhi cricketing sense hai, par uss shot ki zarurat nahi thi. Abhi bhi 8-10 overs baaki the. Jab impact player aur batting depth no. 9 tak ho, fir bhi team 20 overs nahi khel paayi — ye hi sab kuch bata deta hai,” Chawla ne highlight kiya.
Hardik Pandya Ki Smart Captaincy Ne Jeet Dilayi
MI ke captain Hardik Pandya ki bhi Chawla ne tareef ki, jinhone pitch ka sahi analysis karke bowlers ka smart use kiya. Unhone Vignesh ko Harshit Rana ke samne laya, aur Rinku aur Manish Pandey ke partnership todne ke liye debutant Ashwani Kumar ko introduce kiya — jo game changer sabit hua.
“Hardik ne attacking approach dikhayi, jo mujhe sabse achhi lagi. Uske bowling changes spot on the. Jab bhi match mein kisi bhi tarah ka momentum aane lagta, wo sahi bowler lekar aata tha,” Chawla ne bataya.
“Ashwani Kumar ka over jab Rinku aur Pandey set ho rahe the — ussi ne match ki direction badal di. Team ne plans perfect execute kiye,” Chawla ne conclude kiya.
Ab KKR ko apni batting line-up pe serious rethink karna padega agar unhe playoffs ki race mein tikna hai. Venkatesh Iyer jaise high-value player se fans ko expectations to high hain — ab dekhna hoga ki wo next matches mein kaise respond karte hain.
