In a bold but unsurprising move, Kolkata Knight Riders have dropped star all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer from their playing eleven for the crucial IPL 2025 clash against Chennai Super Kings at Eden Gardens. The decision comes amid a disappointing campaign for Iyer, who was bought for a staggering ₹23.75 crore but failed to deliver with the bat. Across 11 matches this season, Iyer managed just 142 runs at an average of 20.29.His strike rate of 139.22 and top score of 60 failed to mask his inconsistency, with the left-hander struggling to provide impactful starts or meaningful finishes. With no not-out innings, his form has been a concern, and KKR have finally decided to make the tough call. KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane opted to bat first against CSK, a team already eliminated from playoff contention. For KKR, however, the stakes couldn’t be higher. With 11 points from 11 games and a Net Run Rate of +0.249, the Knight Riders are sitting just outside the top five. A win today is non-negotiable if they are to keep their playoff hopes alive. The decision to drop Iyer signals KKR’s intent to shake up their underperforming line-up in pursuit of momentum. With the race for the final playoff spots heating up, every decision could prove crucial.Quiz: Who’s that IPL player? Whether this tactical shift delivers the desired result remains to be seen, but it certainly marks a pivotal moment in KKR’s season.

Kolkata Knight Riders

(Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Moeen Ali, Ramandeep Singh, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy

Chennai Super Kings

(Playing XI): Ayush Mhatre, Urvil Patel, Devon Conway, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, Ravichandran Ashwin, MS Dhoni(w/c), Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana