Xtra Time Web Desk: Madhya Pradesh all rounder Venkatesh Iyer, who stole the show in his debut IPL 2021 match for Kolkata Knight Riders against RCB on Monday could have been a high flying management professional. The 26 year old Iyer played a brilliant 27 ball 41 run knock to guide his franchise to a dominating win over RCB. A die hard Rajnikant fan, Iyer chose a career on cricket despite being brilliant in academics.
For Venkatesh, cricket only started at the age of 19 years. Like most middle class families, his parents pushed him for a career in management. He was enrolled for a chartered accountancy degree. He went on to top the intermediate examinations in 2016. His career was at crossroads, whether to attempt his CA final or plunge into making a career in cricket.
Iyer, who already made his T20 and 50-overs debuts for the Madhya Pradesh senior team had to decide on cricket or academics. An attempt for CA final would have meant a break in his aspiration to become a first class cricketer. He chose cricket over academics, a decision that was supported by his parents.
A big turnaround came in Iyer’s career when he let go a job in top accounting firm Deloitte in 2018. It was the same year he made his Ranji Trophy debut for Madhya Pradesh after impressing in a three day game against Chattisgarh. He had to attend the match after giving his MBA internal exams. He went to the college, gave his exams and left early to be on time for the match. By the time he arrived, his team was reeling at 60/6. He went on to score a century which paved the way for his entry in the senior state team.
While Iyer has been around the domestic circuit since 2015, the talented cricketer came into his own in the truncated 2020-21 season, when he had a prolific white-ball season. He topped the run-charts for his side in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, with 227 runs in five innings at an average of 75.66 and a strike rate of 149.34. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he once again shifted the spotlight on him by scoring a blistering 146-ball 198 against Punjab that helped Madhya Pradesh amass 402 for 3.
With a brilliant start to his IPL career, let’s wish Venkatesh Iyer attain more success ahead.