"We have been eyeing him for years now" - KKR CEO Venky Mysore elated on signing Shreyas Iyer for IPL 2022

One of the most talked about buys at the IPL 2022 auction was Shreyas Iyer. Many had, in fact, predicted that Shreyas would be the most expensive buy at the auction and it was a well reasoned argument.

Iyer, a genuine match winner, has led Delhi with serious success and was also a known captaincy choice for the franchise that managed to pick him. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) did and they are delighted.

“I have to tell you this. We’ve been eyeing Shreyas for years now and for the first time made a pitch for him in the very first year that he had made himself available in the mini auction”, remembered KKR CEO Venky Mysore.

“At that point Delhi outbid us and we couldn’t do much more. Thereafter, I had even suggested the idea of a trade but it was rejected and rightly so. This time round we were determined to get him. And when we did there was a sense of real elation around the table. We had got our captain and a serious match winner. At this young age Shreyas has already achieved a lot and he will only get better with time”, argued Mysore.

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Venky Mysore pleased about KKR's leadership group for IPL 2022

Shreyas, with the knocks in the series against Sri Lanka as proof, is in prime form. And donning the captain’s hat again, he will be hugely motivated going into IPL 2022. Losing out because of injury for while, Iyer came back strong in IPL 2021 and hasn’t looked back since.

A successful surgery has only matured him further and if Venky Mysore is to go by, he is the man KKR had eyed all through going into the IPL 2022 auction. The other interesting thing that Mysore pointed out was the leadership group around Iyer, which will surely help throughout the IPL.

“Now with Aaron Finch we have Australia’s white and red ball captain in our ranks. Andre Russell has captained his CPL franchise and Sunil Narine is a superb leader in his own right. Finally in Ajinkya Rahane we have someone with serious leadership experience. Each one of them can help Shreyas if need be and that’s something we are really pleased with”, says Mysore.

In a fast-paced competition like the IPL, it always helps to have experience around and Iyer will indeed find it pleasing to have a wealth of T20 success surrounding him. With the UAE turnaround behind them, KKR, at the start of the season at least certainly looks to be the IPL team to beat with Iyer in charge.