'Understand where they come from': Venkatesh Iyer opens up on KKR releasing Shubman Gill before IPL 2022 originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Venkatesh Iyer has backed KKR’s call to release Shubman Gill before IPL 2022.
• He says social media blamed him twice for decisions that were purely management calls.
• Shubman Gill later joined Gujarat Titans and won the 2022 title, while KKR kept Iyer.

Why KKR chose Venkatesh Iyer over Shubman Gill in IPL 2022: All-rounder opens up on retention debate

Venkatesh Iyer has asked cricket fans to look at the Kolkata Knight Riders’ side of the story when they judge the decision to let Shubman Gill go ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction. The all-rounder spoke at length on the subject in a podcast with former India opener Aakash Chopra, and his answers were measured.

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The decision has remained a talking point for years, largely because of how events unfolded afterwards. Gill had played reasonably well for the franchise, but KKR chose to go with Iyer, who had been a crucial figure in helping the team reach the 2021 final.

Gujarat Titans then took advantage of the situation by signing Gill at the mega auction, and the young batter went on to win the championship in 2022 with the side led by Hardik Pandya. That sequence of events has made the original call look costly in the eyes of many supporters.

Iyer, who has been on the receiving end of much of the criticism, used the conversation to explain how he sees the matter, why he does not blame the management, and what it has been like to carry the blame for something that was never in his hands.

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Aakash Chopra on KKR’s release of Shubman Gill: Was it a mistake?

The discussion began when Chopra said he had never agreed with the franchise’s choice. He had publicly questioned it at the time, and he put the same question to Iyer directly.

“My thought was that he is your future captain, don’t let go of him,” Chopra said. “The day they released him, I said KKR is making a mistake. Do you feel the same way?”

Iyer’s first response was a light-hearted one, and it pointed to a pattern in the franchise’s history. He noted that Kolkata had also parted with Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer, both of whom later went on to captain India.

“If you look at it that way, KKR has released Surya as well, and Shreyas too,” Iyer said. “It feels like it happens intentionally that they release them and they become India captains.”

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He then stopped himself with a joke. “They released me too... no, no, I am not greedy like that,” he added.

The mood turned more serious when Iyer was asked why the decision had been taken. He declined to call it a mistake, and he suggested that such calls can only be understood by considering the circumstances in which they were made.

“I understand where they come from,” Iyer said. “It comes down to what felt right at that moment and what was in your hands. In hindsight you can call it a wrong decision, but no decision is strictly right or wrong.”

He also pointed to the franchise’s record of bringing players into the national side. “At least they are in a position where they are giving new stars to India,” he said. “KKR has given more India debuts than perhaps any other franchise, which they can be extremely proud of.”

Venkatesh Iyer on fan backlash after Shubman Gill was not retained by KKR

Iyer then described the personal cost of the episode. He said he was retained when Gill was not, and that when Shreyas was not picked, the money was spent on him, so the blame landed on him on both occasions.

“Both times the sword fell on me,” Iyer said. “When Shubman was not retained, I was retained; and when Shreyas was not picked, that money was spent on me.”

The reaction on social media, he said, made him feel responsible for something he had not asked for. “Both times social media made me feel like ‘you are the reason most of us are unhappy’, which is uncalled for,” he said. “I didn’t ask for anything.”

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He added that the choice had never been his to make. “It was a management call, why would I say no to it?” Iyer said. “Would I say, ‘Not me, pick him’? That’s not possible.”

Iyer also spoke about the abuse that has followed him online, which he said has continued for a long time. According to him, the comments reappear every time Gill has a big day, and many of them appear on KKR fan pages.

“I’ve been subject to unreal hate for a long time,” Iyer said. “Even till date, if Shubman scores a hundred and you go to a KKR page, people comment: ‘We let go of Shubman and took him instead’, ‘In search of gold we lost diamond’...”

What Venkatesh Iyer’s comments say about blame, hindsight and franchise decisions

Iyer’s answers deserve credit for their honesty and their balance. It would have been easy for him to dodge the question or to take a shot at the franchise, but he chose to defend the people who made the decision, while also being open about how badly the criticism has hurt.

His central point about hindsight is a fair one. Every franchise makes choices based on the information in front of it, and it is only later, when a player thrives elsewhere, that the same choice begins to look like a blunder. KKR, as Iyer said, have a long record of producing India debutants, and they have also seen several of their former players go on to lead the country.

At the same time, the fans’ frustration is understandable. Watching a talented young batter win a title with a rival team stings, and a pun about gold and diamonds is a natural, if unkind, outlet for that feeling.

The unfairness lies in where it is directed. Iyer did not choose the retention list, and no player in his position could reasonably be expected to turn down a contract.

The healthiest outcome is for supporters to judge the decision on its merits and to leave the player out of it. Iyer has been handling the noise with dignity, and that deserves respect.

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