Pune, May 15 (IANS): Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Shreyas Iyer on Saturday tried to deny any interference from the franchise's CEO in team selection, adding that he was there only to console players that were left out.

Iyer had sparked a controversy a couple of days as he implied that Kolkata Knight Riders' CEO Venky Maysore was interfering in team selection, with many former players criticising the KKR administrator for meddling in cricketing matters.

On Saturday during the post-match presentation ceremony following KKR's 54-run win against Sunriders Hyderabad, Shreyas Iyer dismissed the controversy as a misunderstanding. He said when he took the CEO's name, it was to imply his positive role in consoling the players for being left out as it was a very difficult task to come to terms with.

"I want to clarify from the last interview when I took the CEO's name [for team selections], I meant he's there to console the players who are sitting out, it's never easy for them," said Iyer.

Andre Russell's clinical all-round performance helped Kolkata Knight Riders thrash Sunrisers Hyderabad by 54 runs in the 61st match of the IPL 2022 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, here on Saturday.

Fighting knocks by Andre Russell (49 not out off 28) and Sam Billings (34 off 29) guided Kolkata Knight Riders to 177/6 in 20 overs. After winning the toss and opting to bat first, KKR were struggling for 94/5 after 11.3 overs but Russell and Billings stitched a partnership of 63 runs for the sixth wicket and ensured their team had a solid total on the board.

In reply, Abhishek Sharma (43 off 28) and Aiden Markram (32 off 25) played solid knocks for SRH. However, apart from them, none of the Hyderabad batters were able to apply themselves at the crease and crumbled under the pressure.

In the end, Sunrisers Hyderabad were restricted to 123-8 in 20 overs, losing by 54 runs.