He made his India debut after just playing only 10 IPL matches.
An ex-Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star has recently opened up about his efforts to earn his place back in the Indian team and sounds confident enough to make it happen soon as well.
Venkatesh Iyer, who played a clinical role in helping KKR win their third IPL title last season, has his target set on donning the tricolour once again.
Notably, Iyer made his India debut after just playing only 10 IPL matches. He excelled in every task assigned to him but was sidelined as soon as the returning Hardik Pandya became available. He was charting out his comeback, amid a solid streak in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, when he fell down the staircase at the team hotel and broke his ankle in a freak injury.
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Venkatesh Iyer Feels He Is ‘Really Close’ to Making India Comeback
Now, after three years of making his India debut, Iyer is in a good place fitness-wise and been back scoring the runs. In the IPL 2024 season, Iyer looked prolific with the bat, scoring 370 runs at an average of 46.25 and a strike rate of 158.80.
Speaking of his ambition of wearing the Indian jersey again, Venkatesh Iyer told Sportskeeda,
“I think I am ready. But to be honest, I have to be realistic about it. I haven’t been in the reckoning because, somewhere down the line, I need to push more. I need to pick up more wickets, I need to create a bigger impact. But I am getting there. I am really close to making a comeback. And it is really pleasing to see good competition in the team. What that does is give me a lot of hope.”
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