He batted at No.5 against Mumbai Indians.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have been advised to drop Angkrish Raghuvanshi and adjust the batting position of Venkatesh Iyer before their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
Venkatesh batted at No.5 against Mumbai Indians but scored only three runs. In the second match, he did not get to bat as KKR lost only two wickets against RR. In the first match against, he batted at No.4 but managed just six runs.
Sanjay Bangar and Aakash Chopra have suggested that KKR should let Venkatesh bat at No.4.
During the Timeout Show on ESPNcricinfo, Bangar shared his thoughts on KKR’s batting order. He said he is not convinced that Raghuvanshi should bat at No.4. Instead, he feels Raghuvanshi should be used as an Impact Substitute.
Bangar explained that having Raghuvanshi and Ajinkya Rahane in the team pushes the rest of the batters lower down the order, which may not be ideal. In his opinion, Venkatesh at No.5 is not the optimal choice, and he should occupy the No.4 slot instead. Moreover, he feels that having Ramandeep Singh at No.9 doesn’t make sense. Thus, he suggests that KKR should exclude Raghuvanshi from the main XI and play him as an Impact Sub when needed.
“I’m not convinced about Raghuvanshi coming in at number four. He should, most of the time, be an impact sub—that is, if needed. Because what happens when you have Raghuvanshi and Rahane together is that you just push everybody down. Maybe Venkatesh Iyer at five is not his best spot. He can come in at number four, and having Ramandeep at nine doesn’t really make sense. So I would leave out Raghuvanshi as an impact sub,” Sanjay Bangar said.
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Chopra agreed with Bangar’s point about KKR’s batting order. He said that since KKR has a player like Venkatesh Iyer, who has performed well in the past and was bought for a costly price. He should bat in his best positions, which are No.1, 2, or 3. If Venkatesh bats lower than No.3, it becomes a problem.
However, the issue is that Rahane can also bat only at No.1, 2, or 3, which means the latest he should come in is No.4. If he bats any later, it would not be fair to his abilities. To get the best out of both players, KKR needs to rethink their batting order and make sure they are placed in positions where they can perform well.
“I agree because when you have somebody like Venkatesh Iyer here and what he’s done, and the amount of money that you have spent, ideally, you should put him at the spot that he belongs to, which is, I think, 1, 2, or 3. If he’s going any lower than three, it is a problem. But then you have Ajinkya Rahane, who can also bat only at 1, 2, and 3. That means the latest that he has to walk in is at number four. Any later, you’re not doing justice to the quality of batter that you’ve got and where he should be batting. He will give you the best that he can. So they need to rethink the batting order for sure,” Aakash Chopra said.
Although Raghuvanshi has shown promise at No.4, his position is pushing Venkatesh down to No.5. It might be better for KKR if Venkatesh moves up to No.4 while Raghuvanshi is used as an Impact Substitute.
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