A shocking comment from Venkatesh Iyer just ahead of the IPL 2026 mini auction. During an interview, Iyer expressed his desire to become the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Last season, both the player and the team performed poorly and crashed out of the title race. 

Kolkata Knight Riders was the defending champion in the IPL 2025 season. But they failed to defend their title. Because of inconsistence performace, they even was unable to reach the super four stage of the contest. In that season, Venkatesh Iyer proved to be one of the biggest flops of the entire campaign. 

Because of his high price tag, many critics and former cricket experts already advised the franchise to release Iyer from the squad to save a big chunk of money for the auction day. During last season's mega auction, KKR retained the middle-order batter for a whopping amount of INR 23.75 Crore. In reality, when the team needed him the most during the matches, Iyer misfired. 

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In the IPL 2025 season, Venkatesh scored only 142 runs in 11 matches at an average of 20.29 and a strike rate of 139.22. His performance was largely seen as disappointing, particularly given his high price tag of INR 23.75 crore in the mega auction, and he did not bowl any deliveries during the season. 

Iyer to become the captain of KKR in IPL 2026?

During a conversation, Iyer revealed that when he joined KKR for the IPL 2025 season, he was well aware of the leadership role in the team, as the management assigned him as the deputy of the skipper, Ajinkya Rahane. So, he already prepared mentally to become the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders. 

I am always ready for the Captaincy. When KKR appointed me as the vice-captain, it meant they saw me in leadership role. But Rahane had a lot of international experience, and KKR had made that clear to me through our conversations.

— Venkatesh Iyer 🎙️pic.twitter.com/p6dZHAjgty

— KKR Karavan (@KkrKaravan) November 12, 2025

"I am always ready for the captaincy. When KKR appointed me as the vice-captain, it meant they saw me in a leadership role. But Rahane had a lot of international experience, and KKR had made that clear to me through our conversations," Venkatesh Iyer said.