 "Venkatesh Iyer of Kolkata Knight Riders plays a shot during Vivo Indian Premier League between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders, at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi (Photo: PTI)")
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batsman Venkatesh Iyer may have made millions of fans and followers across the globe with his entertaining style of batting in the last two matches -- against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) -- but the Indore-born 26-year-old is himself a huge fan of Sourav Ganguly and has modelled his game and technique on the lines of the former India skipper.
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Picking up from where he had left off against RCB, where he had clobbered an unbeaten 41 off 27 deliveries to guide KKR to a nine-wicket win with 10 overs remaining, Iyer scored his maiden IPL century and guided his side to a 7-wicket victory against MI on Thursday evening.
In a post-match show, Iyer said that he always had the desire to play for KKR only because Sourav Ganguly was its "captain initially".
"KKR was the first franchise that I wanted to be a part of only because dada (Sourav Ganguly) was the captain initially, so I really wanted to get into KKR first and got picked. That was a dreamy moment for me, to be honest," said Iyer.
"I am a huge fan of dada. Dada has millions of fans across the globe and I'm one of them and dada has played a huge role in my batting. Indirectly, I used to bat right-handed when I was very young but I wanted exactly to replicate dada looking at him, the way he hit sixes, the way he batted, the way he bowled. I think, he has played a huge role unknowingly in my life. I'm really grateful for that," Iyer said.
Iyer has been a revelation in Dubai with even his skipper Eoin Morgan singling him out for praise and Iyer says that the opportunity he got was all because of a positive attitude he kept during lockdown.
"When you are under lockdown, I think I was really waiting for my opportunity was very positive that I would get my chance and every activity that I did was directed towards how I was going to play in the match. Whatever practice I did I think it's paying dividends."
A great Rajinikanth fan, Iyer says his life's biggest moment wold be when he meets the legendary acror. "My life's biggest moment would be when I meet him. I've seen each and every Rajini-starrer film. I remember I was in Indore and especially went to Chennai, bought a ticket at a local theatre to watch his match. I'm such a diehard fan of him.
"My favourite dialogue 'My path is a different path' (translation) is my life's motto," added Iyer.
KKR will next play Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on September 26.
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