MBA graduate lighting up IPL 2021: All you need to know about KKR star Venkatesh Iyer

Venkatesh Iyer has lit up Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)'s campaign in the second leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 in UAE. A prodigious left-hander, Iyer's nonchalant and flamboyant style of batting has helpedhim become one of the most talked-about youngsters in the league at present.

Iyer has had an eventful journey in his cricketing career so far as he continues his pursuit of glory on the 24 yards. A bright student, Iyer had ditched his CA final exams for an MBA in finance, only a year after turning a professional cricketer.

He made his T20 debut for Madhya Pradesh in March 2015 but only a year later in 2016, he had to choose between cricket or CA finals. He turned down the opportunity to become a chartered accountant and decided to go for an MBA toensure he could continue his dream of making it big in cricket.

Post his MBA, Iyer landed a lucrative job offer from one of the Big 4 firms of India in 2018, however, destiny had other plans for the swashbuckling batsman.

In an interview with ESPN Cricinfo, Iyer revealed he was offered a job from Deloitte but he turned it down for cricket. In the same interview, the opening batsman claimed it didn't take alot of effort to manage cricket and his MBA as the game remains his first love while asserting that he would have cracked IIT or IIM had it not been for cricket.

"I decided to give up my CA and pursue an MBA in finance. Honestly, I didn't have to put in a lot of effort to manage both. I'm not bragging, I've always been a bright student," Iyer said.

"Had there been no cricket, I would have landed in an IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) or IIM (Indian Institute of Management)," he added.

Born in Indore in 1994, Iyer's sole motive behind trading his CA finals with an MBA in finance was based on his desire to pursue a career in cricket. However, it has not been an easy journey for him on the pitch as he had to wait for nearly six years to get his first break in the IPL since making his first-class debut in 2015.

Iyer hasn't looked back since making his Ranji Trophy debut in 2018 and a decent run in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy earlier this year saw KKR pick him at his base price of Rs 20 lakh at the player auction. He made a cracking debutfor the Eoin Morgan-led side in their first game of the UAE leg against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday before continuing his purple patch against Mumbai Indians on Thursday.

He slammed an unbeaten 41 off just 27 balls to power KKR to a 9-wicket win over RCB on the resumption of their IPL 2021 campaign and followed it up with a brilliant 30-ball 53 against Mumbai Indians on Thursday as KKR bagged their second win in a row, riding on the 26-year-old's heroics with the willow.

The MBA graduate has provided much-needed firepower to KKR's batting line-up at the top and has played an instrumental role in their back-to-back wins which saw Morgan & Co. enter the top four after a poor start to their campaign in the first leg of the season in India.

A dasher with the willow and a handy part-time bowler, Iyer will be hoping to continue his stellar run in the upcoming matches and make the most of the opportunities coming his way in his debut season of the cash-rich league.