The KKR allrounder and India international, Venkatesh Iyer has been signed up by England's Lancashire club and he will play a part in the team's ongoing One-Day cup campaign, and the two rounds of the subsequent County Championship.
Iyer is expected to make his debut for Lancashire on July 28, against Kent Spitfires, at the Stanley Park in Blackpool.
Lancashire had lost their opening match of the new One Day domestic season against Durham, and they will hope that Iyer's addition will be a great boost for the team's return back to winning ways.
Phil Salt, who is his teammate at Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is also a player at the Lancashire Cricket Club, whose home ground is the famous Old Trafford Cricket stadium, in Manchester.
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Did Phil Salt recommend KKR teammate Venkatesh Iyer to Lancashire Cricket Club?
According to ESPN Cricinfo reports, England's opening batter Phil Salt did indeed recommend his KKR teammate Venkatesh Iyer to his county club, Lancashire.
Salt, who had a terrific season with the bat for KKR in IPL 2024 had to depart early ahead of the playoffs due to national team commitments with England. While he was not available to play, he had a close eye on the team as they went on to lift the IPL title after beating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Final.
Iyer was also one of the leading batters in the tournament, particularly during the playoffs and in the Final, where he scored the joint fastest fifty by a batter in an IPL Final, as he guided KKR to their third title.
Upon Iyer's announcement as Lancashire player, the club's director Mark Chilton was glad to have got the deal done and said:
"This is a deal we have worked hard to complete. Venkatesh will add experience to a young side during the One-Day Cup, whilst providing an explosive batting option in the middle-order and another seam bowler that we can turn to with the ball," he said.
"He will also be available for our County Championship matches against Surrey and Hampshire towards the end of August and gives us another high-quality overseas option to select from," he added.
While Salt and Iyer had batted just thrice together during IPL 2024, the English batter seemed to be impressed by the southpaw's explosive nature with the bat at the top of the order. Additionally, Iyer is also a decent medium-pace allrounder, who can contribute with the ball for his new club as well.
What did Venkatesh Iyer say on joining Lancashire?
Venkatesh Iyer expressed his emotions upon joining Lancashire, calling it a great opportunity for him to feature for the county. He also could not resist on speaking about the iconic Old Trafford, Lancashire's home ground.
"I am incredibly excited to head over to England and to have the opportunity to play county cricket for the first time in my career. Lancashire is a very historic county with a long history of welcoming Indian players to their Club," Venky stated.
I am looking forward to emulating the likes of Farokh Engineer, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and most recently Washington Sundar in wearing the Red Rose colours at Emirates Old Trafford, Venky reminded himself of the past."
The 29-year-old, who lit up the IPL 2024 with his performances for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), has represented India in the limited-overs formats. Iyer spoke on playing in the English conditions and that playing red-ball cricket would benefit his overall game.
"To test my skills in both one-day and first-class cricket in English conditions is going to really benefit my game. I hope that I can entertain the fans and help my Lancashire teammates to achieve their targets in both formats this summer," the MP-born cricketer concluded.
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