KKR mentor Dwayne Bravo says signing Venkatesh Iyer is one of our key priorities

Dwayne Bravo, former West Indies all-rounder and current coach of reigning champions Kolkata Knight Riders, has called on Venkatesh Iyer to keep the ‘core’ of the IPL championship-winning team intact. He defended the team’s strategy of “doing our best” for the goal. The signing of Venkatesh, who was tipped to be a captaincy candidate for KKR, has sparked criticism as to why the team’s think tank did not retain him if it was part of their plan to give him leadership. Bravo, a four-time IPL champion with Chennai Super Kings, said: “Signing Venky (Venkatesh Iyer) was one of our top priorities. As you can see, we are giving everything for him. I did my best,” he said.

“It’s good that we have 90 percent of the players on the championship-winning team. That in itself is a positive sign.”

“It’s important to keep the core, because if you have to build from scratch, it gets complicated to do things like mix and match.” “We started planning while we were in Trinidad. We have made a proper plan and decided on the players we want to target,” added Bravo, who will be responsible for all franchises under the Knight Riders label in the T20 league.

The 29-year-old Madhya Pradesh all-rounder, who has represented India in nine T20Is and two ODIs, was sold for a staggering Rs 23.75 crore in the two-day IPL mega-auction that concluded here on Monday. He emerged as the most expensive player.

Only Rishabh Pant (Lucknow, Rs 2.75 crore) and Shreyas Iyer (Punjab, Rs 26.75 crore) surpassed Venkatesh in the list of most expensive players, an experienced Indian batsman and former Lucknow batsman. -He also surpassed Super Giants captain KL Rahul. He was picked up by Delhi Capitals for Rs 140 crore.

Bravo was also excited that KKR roped in fiery pacer Umran Malik.

“I have always admired his work speed, work ethic and energy. I’m glad we were able to recognize him.” KKR CEO and MD Venky Mysore said, “Retention Rules “The way it was set up, the RTM rules, the salary cap, the marquee players, the two-day auction – this was definitely a lot more nerve-wracking.” Because there are nuances, “the unanimous view of the think tank was to maintain that structure, and we have done that. In certain areas, we have also made improvements and upgrades,” Mysore also said. He highlighted the value that Rovman Powell brings to the Kolkata Knight Riders set-up and highlighted his wealth of experience and leadership qualities.

“Rovman Powell has seen what he has done over the years in the CPL and other leagues and of course in the IPL. It’s the experience, the captaincy and what he’s done.” When you put it all together, it’s really, really great to have him by your side.