'Release him and get him back': Harbhajan's crucial advice for KKR to re-sign 'destructive' player at IPL 2023 auction

Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star Harbhajan Singh has shared crucial advice for the two-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions on how to retain the services of a star performer for the forthcoming edition of the cash-rich league. Under the leadership of white-ball maverick Shreyas Iyer, former champions KKR capped off a forgetful season in the IPL 2022. KKR failed to qualify for the IPL 2022 playoffs as the Kolkata-based franchise finished seventh on the points table.

After emerging as the breakout star in the IPL 2021, Indian all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer had a season to forget last year. The star batter of the Kolkata-based franchise failed to fire for the Iyer-led side in the IPL 2022. Venkatesh was retained by KKR for a whopping sum of INR 8 crore in the build-up to the mega auction last season. Former KKR star Harbhajan feels the Kolkata heavyweights should not part ways with the rising star after a mediocre season.

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"They shouldn't do an overall release. You should release him and get him back at a lesser price if possible because the player is destructive. We saw a short trailer in the seven or eight matches he played," Harbhajan shared his views during a discussion on the Star Sports show - Game Plan. Talking about his stint with KKR, Harbhajan said that the think tank of the franchise used to make sure that Venkatesh gets one or two overs during crunch encounters.

"He played amazingly well and he played for India also based on those seven or eight matches. He also bowls along with that. I was surprised they didn't get him to bowl last year (IPL 2022). When we were in Dubai along with him, we made sure that he bowls one or two overs when the match used to get stuck," Harbhajan added. Venkatesh amassed 182 runs in 12 matches for KKR last season.