Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batsman Venkatesh Iyer made his international debut for Team India in the recently concluded first T20 International (T20I) against New Zealand.
Although Iyer failed to make a huge impact in the game during India’s successful chase of 165 runs, but he did hit a crucial boundary in the final over to ease off the pressure before getting out.
Iyer was picked in the Indian team on the grounds of his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 heroics. He scored 370 runs in 10 matches at an average of 41.11 and a a strike rate of 128.47 with the help of 4 half-centuries.
In a chat with ESPNcricinfo, Iyer revealed that Indian spin great Harbhajan Singh had made a prediction about his rise in the fascinating game even before the former had debuted in the competition.
“Harbhajan Singh told me straight to my face when the IPL began. I was not even a part of the set-up and he saw me in a couple of net sessions. He told me ‘you will be KKR’s find this season; I have complete faith in you and when you get the opportunity, you will definitely be able to do it’,” said Iyer.
Iyer admitted he could not believe what Bhajji said but it really warmed his heart as it was exciting to see someone like Harbhajan complementing the rookie player.
“And to be honest, I did not believe that. I was like why is this guy telling me so much when he hasn’t even seen me bat in practice games. I thought that it was just the good person inside him telling me, comforting me; but I am really happy that it turned out to be slightly true. So that was something that really warmed my heart,” added Iyer.
