Venkatesh Iyer has opened up about the prolonged online backlash he faced from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) supporters following the franchise’s decision to retain him while releasing Shubman Gill ahead of IPL 2022. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter revealed that the criticism has continued over the years, with fans still targeting him whenever Gill scores a century.Gill was released by KKR ahead of the 2022 season and subsequently became one of the three players drafted by the newly formed Gujarat Titans (GT), who secured his services for Rs 8 crore alongside Hardik Pandya and Rashid Khan.Speaking in a podcast with Aakash Chopra, Venkatesh recalled how KKR supporters have repeatedly brought up the franchise’s decision, making him a target of social media trolling.“I have been subject to a lot of hate for a long time. Even till date, if Shubman is getting a hundred; you go to a KKR page, people would be commenting, ‘in search of gold, we lost a diamond’ and all of that stuff,” Venkatesh said.The 31-year-old also discussed his situation ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, particularly after KKR decided to release him. He revealed that he had even approached franchise co-owner Shah Rukh Khan in the hope of a change in the decision.“I had kept an hankerchief on the side. I even asked Shah Rukh sir,” he said.KKR had spent Rs 23.75 crore to buy Venkatesh back ahead of the 2025 season. However, following his release, the all-rounder admitted that he had already moved on mentally and was not even considering a return to the franchise during the 2026 auction.“I didn’t even think about the pay cut. I had already started thinking, ‘Okay, it’s not going to be purple’,” he said.Venkatesh was eventually signed by defending champions RCB, where he got an opportunity to experience a completely different fan culture. The batter was particularly struck by the devotion of Bengaluru supporters and described their connection with the franchise as something he had never witnessed before.“You won’t believe this, but I saw people actually worshipping the RCB jersey before matches. This was something different. Fandom at a different level,” Venkatesh recalled.His initial days at RCB involved spending time on the bench before he was introduced as an Impact Substitute after the team suffered an early collapse in the batting order. He responded with an unbeaten 29 off 15 deliveries, helping RCB reach 201/8, although the team eventually lost the match.Venkatesh later delivered another impressive performance against Punjab Kings, remaining unbeaten on 73 off 40 balls.He ended the season with 209 runs from seven matches at an average of 52.25, playing his part in RCB’s successful campaign as the franchise secured its second IPL title in a row.
