Indian all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer was bought for Rs. 7 crore by defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL 2026 auction, a much lower price than last season.
Iyer is one of the highest-rated Indian all-rounders, one of the very few who bowl medium pace. The Madhya Pradesh cricketer has played a few T20Is for the Indian Cricket Team and is a regular domestic standout.
RCB Buy Venkatesh Iyer For Rs 7 Crore IPL 2026
The 31-year-old made his IPL debut in 20-21 for the Kolkata Knight Riders, impressing in the second half of the COVID-affected season. Since then, he has been retained by the Knight Riders again and again.
2023 was his best season, as he made 404 runs in 14 games that year. Then, in 2024, he played a crucial role in KKR’s title-winning season. Despite that, he was not retained ahead of the mega-auction for IPL 2025. But it was expected that the then-defending champions would try to buy him back in the auction.
That is exactly what happened, as in the IPL 2025 auction, Iyer was bought back by the Knight Riders for a staggering Rs. 23.75 crore.
However, the all-rounder went on to have his worst IPL season yet in 2025, making only 142 runs in 11 games. Poor form, combined with his being sent lower down the order, resulted in him becoming a big-money flop last season.
So it was to no one’s surprise that KKR released Venkatesh ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, making a big room in their budget purse.
Still, when Iyer came on the auction docket, he was a sought-after prospect for multiple teams.
Multiple teams bid on the lanky all-rounder, including his former team, KKR. But in the end, it was the defending champions, RCB, who bought him for Rs 7 crore, a reduction of almost 75% from last year.
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