Cricketer Venkatesh Iyer visits Tirupati temple, offers prayers

Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], March 2 (ANI): Indian all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer visited the sacred hill shrine of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams at Tirupati and offered prayers on Monday.
Venkatesh Iyer participated in temple rituals and sought the blessings of Lord Venkateswara during his visit. Temple authorities welcomed him in accordance with traditional customs and presented him with prasadam and sacred honours after the darshan.
Iyer, who was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL), for five seasons--from season 2021 to 2025--will begin a new chapter with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2026.
Iyer, who had been bought by KKR for ₹23.75 crore in the 2025 mega auction, was acquired by RCB for ₹7 crore in the 2026 mini-auction, marking a substantial drop in his salary.
In 62 IPL matches, Iyer has scored 1468 runs at an average of 29.95, with a century to his name. With the ball, his contribution has been minimal, with just three wickets to his name.
Coming to the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 side of things, Team India secured a semifinal berth as they defeated West Indies by five wickets in a do-or-die Super 8s clash on Sunday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Sanju Samson's unbeaten 97 headlined India's win.
In the match, India won the toss and elected to field first. Roston Chase (40 in 25 balls, with five fours and a six) and skipper Shai Hope (32 in 33 balls, with three fours and a six) put on an opening stand of 68 runs for first wicket, but WI slipped to 119/4 in 14.1 overs, despite a fiery cameo by Shimron Hetmyer (27 in 12 balls, with a four and two sixes).
It was the pair of Jason Holder (37* in 22 balls, with two fours and three sixes) and Powell (34* in 19 balls, with three fours and two sixes) who put on a fiery stand of 76 runs in 35 balls, taking WI to 195/4 in 20 overs.
Jasprit Bumrah (2/36 in four overs) was India's leading bowler, with Varun Chakaravarthy and Hardik Pandya dropping a spell of 1/40 in four overs each.
In the run-chase, India was reduced to 41/2 within the powerplay. It was a 58-run stand between Samson (97* off 50 balls) and Suryakumar Yadav (18), which brought the chase back on track. Then Sanju went on to stitch partnerships with Tilak Varma (27 in 15 balls), Hardik Pandya (17) and Shivam Dube (8*), taking India to a five-wicket win. (ANI)