The Indian Premier League (IPL) has constantly managed to give young Indians players a platform to showcase their talent to the world. Over the years, various rookie Indians have gone on to become household names because of their performances in the tournament.
It has not taken the second leg of IPL 2021 long to throw in the latest superstar. Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) Venkatesh Iyer has made the cricket world take notice of him over the last few days.
Iyer, who had not played an IPL game of his career before arriving in the UAE this year showed glimpses of his talent as he stayed unbeaten on the crease as KKR chased down RCB’s meager total of 93 on Monday.
However, it was the left-handers’ half-century against Mumbai Indians that caught the imagination of the cricketer fraternity. His fearlessness against some of the finest pace bowlers in the world in Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, and Adam Milne has not gone unnoticed.
Parthiv has lavished praise on him by comparing him to legendary Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh. Talking to Star Sports, Parthiv said, “One of the great things about him, having seen him, he can not only open, he can bat from 1 to 9 and bowl as well. So he will have a great future. I think there is a lot of Yuvraj Singh in him. There is a lot of flow.”
The former Indian wicket-keeper also applauded his maturity courage. “We do talk about a lot of boundaries. But the maturity that Venkatesh Iyer showed was superb. We are talking about someone who is not an India A player, someone who has not played international cricket.
“He showed so much maturity and courage to go out there and back himself. That’s something we always look out for in young players in the IPL. He went out and played fearless cricket,” said Parthiv
Iyer will be next seen in action on Sunday when the Knight Riders face MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings.
