Venkatesh Iyer feels he still has a long distance to go before he can rub shoulders with someone like Hardik Pandya whom he considers as the top allrounder in the Indian team currently. Iyer had a meteoric rise following a stellar IPL 2021 season. It has been more than a year now since his last appearance for the Men in Blue.

Venkatesh Iyer told Sportskeeda –

“In India, there is a problem of plenty. And then when you look at Hardik, he’s got the skills to be India’s top all-rounder. And if I have to cement my place in the 11, I have to be as good as him, which I’m nowhere close to at this point of time. This is the honest truth and I have to accept that. But I’ll be working towards it.”

Iyer added – “And once I’m confident of my bowling, then I think I can contribute in all the departments. It’s just about my bowling which I’m really working hard on.” When quizzed about how he plans to make his comeback, the 28-year-old said he’s not putting himself under any pressure.

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Venkatesh Iyer said –

“I am absolutely not thinking of a comeback. I played in the Indian team when I didn’t think about it. So I want to keep it that way. The more pressure I add on myself, the more I would go away from my process.”

Iyer further added – “The only thing in mind is to become the 100 percent fit cricketer that I always was – to bat and bowl in full capacity. And that will happen when I play more and more domestic games. So the current focus is to represent MP. Once I can look in the mirror and say, ‘I am ready to represent India’, only then I’ll think about it.”