Kolkata Knight Riders‘ premium signing, Venkatesh Iyer, discovered himself on the receiving finish of fan outrage following a disappointing efficiency towards Gujarat Titans (GT) at Eden Gardens on April 21. The left-handed batter, who was roped in for a staggering INR 23.75 crore in the course of the IPL mega public sale, did not ship as soon as once more—prompting a wave of harsh criticism on-line.
Venkatesh Iyer’s sluggish knock derails KKR’s chase
Chasing a difficult goal of 199, Iyer appeared utterly out of rhythm and failed to offer any momentum in the course of the Powerplay. He crawled to 14 runs from 19 balls at a strike charge of simply 73.68, failing to hit even a single boundary. The sluggish knock elevated stress on the batting unit and ultimately performed a job in derailing KKR’s chase.
On a floor the place timing the ball wasn’t straightforward, Iyer was anticipated to anchor the innings earlier than unleashing, however his hesitance and failure to capitalize on matchups—particularly towards R Sai Kishore—grew to become a speaking level.
Followers troll Iyer for below-par efficiency towards GT
Iyer’s sluggish innings meant the likes of Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, and Ramandeep Singh have been compelled to attend longer earlier than coming in to bat—limiting their influence in a high-stakes chase. His lack of ability to rotate strike or break away finally allowed the Titans’ bowlers to tighten the screws.
Additionally READ: IPL 2025: KKR fans erupt in anger as Ajinkya Rahane’s side surrenders to Gujarat Titans in a disappointing defeat
Followers didn’t maintain again, taking to social media with memes, sarcastic feedback, and even calling him a “23.75 crore fraud”—a direct reference to his public sale price ticket. Many questioned whether or not the hefty funding was justified based mostly on his latest type.
Right here is how followers reacted:
Some KKR followers nonetheless defending fraud Venkatesh Iyer, our fanbase is in any respect time low 🤡 pic.twitter.com/3eHMfFlPgr
— atif.reds (@atifreds) April 21, 2025
KKR followers, did you discover?
The second Venkatesh Iyer walked in, the boundaries dried up. Earlier than that, Rahane and Narine have been discovering the fence with ease.
Time to maneuver on from the ₹23.75 Cr fraud earlier than he drags KKR down any additional. pic.twitter.com/RIgcKOahks
— StarcyKKR (@StarcKKR) April 21, 2025
How on earth this fraud managed to get 25cr kkr administration is so dumb 🤣🤣 #KKRvsGT #venkateshiyer pic.twitter.com/12gLgGmw1C
— RAPA 💥 (@ashokpubgtw) April 21, 2025
Venkatesh Iyer in keeping with Venky Mysore
#KKRvsGT pic.twitter.com/3mR1xS0TiK— SM (@dickjorsey) April 21, 2025
Venkatesh iyer at present 😹🤡#venkateshiyer #KKRvGT pic.twitter.com/ytyf0ruOse
— Mohit Kamal Rath (@mkr4411) April 21, 2025
#KKR misplaced this season the day they bought VENKATESH IYER at ₹24cr….#IPL2025 #KKRvGT #KKRvsGT #GTvsKKR #GTvKKR #IPL
— Ayan (@Aayan0999) April 22, 2025
Most relavant participant VENKATESH IYER retained for 21 crs 😹
— Eswar (@Vamsi3626586) April 22, 2025
One other greatest fraud of this season KKR spend 23cr on him however is he truly deserve that a lot cash?? Clearly not. Shreyas have to be retain however as a substitute of him your guys retained the fraud Venkatesh Iyer so you bought what you deserve.#KKRvGT #IPL2025 pic.twitter.com/rJ7vYaeFvN
— Akshya Bhoi (@akshyab35) April 22, 2025
What made KKR assume Venkatesh Iyer was price ₹23.75 crore? I simply don’t get it.#KKRvsGT pic.twitter.com/TmRGhLPUin
— Biswatosh Sinha (@biswatosh) April 21, 2025
KKR paid Venkatesh Iyer ₹23.75 crore to:
– Kill our title protection
– Torture us with brain-dead batting and clownish fielding
– Set off collapses and wreck momentum
– Hold KKR followers in weekly despair#KKRvsGT— Pathan bhai (@pathan0339) April 21, 2025
Venkatesh Iyer 23.75 crore fraud…
😁#KKRvsGT pic.twitter.com/SPZWJVWS5r— Arjun 🕉 (@Thakur_Sahab_21) April 21, 2025
Venkatesh Iyer Out on 14 Runs in 19 Balls, whereas Chasing the 199 Runs. KKR purchase him 23.75 Crore in Mega Public sale. Wastage of 23.75 Crore by KKR. #KKRvsGT
— VIKAS (@VikasYadav69014) April 21, 2025
Did Venkatesh Iyer deserve 23.75 crores? #KKRvsGT Such poor batting efficiency. Rahane purchased who was purchased for two crore that to throughout final session of public sale. My opinion is that he’s overrated.
— Kabeer (@kabeeraa13) April 21, 2025
Venkatesh Iyer has been piss poor. Mentioned this on the public sale as properly, 23.75 crore was by no means price it. He has did not deceive this season. Time and time once more the stress has been created on the different batter due to his lack of ability to strike massive.
— Vishesh Roy (@vroy38) April 21, 2025
With the enterprise finish of the season approaching, Kolkata will likely be hoping for a turnaround in type from Iyer, who has thus far did not reside as much as expectations. The workforce’s marketing campaign might hinge on how their big-money participant responds to rising scrutiny and stress from each followers and specialists.
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