Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer suffered a major injury scare while playing for Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25. The player twisted his ankle while batting against Kerala on Day 1 of the match in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday, January 23.
Only two balls into his innings after he came in at No. 6, with Madhya Pradesh struggling at 49-5, the all-rounder fell down in pain after twisting his ankle. The physio had to come on to assess Iyer, with the player still unable to get up.
Venkatesh Iyer eventually hobbled off the field with the physios. Madhya Pradesh's struggles with the bat worsened as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. However, he braved the injury and returned to the crease to help the side. He scored a valuable 42 runs off 80 deliveries, before being the ninth wicket to fall in the innings during the 61st over.
His return to the field comes across as a major relief for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), with the IPL 2025 season only a couple of months away.
Venkatesh Iyer had sustained a broken ankle in 2022
The twisted ankle must have brought back bad memories for the all-rounder as he had suffered a similar injury with more severe consequences back in October 2022. He had twisted his ankle and broke it after falling down a staircase midway through the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign.
"I played for India last year and then had a freak ankle injury. I had to go to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) just to start walking again," Venkatesh Iyer had told Sportstar in an interview in 2023
It remains to be seen whether Venkatesh Iyer will hamper his all-round ability for the remainder of the contest. He has featured for Madhya Pradesh in the white-ball competitions recently and regularly contributed with the ball too, apart from his batting responsibilities.
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