File photo of Venkatesh Iyer.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Venkatesh Iyer was bought by Royal Challengers Bengaluru for ₹7 crore in the IPL mini auction but former captain Anil Kumble said that the pace-bowling all-rounder may not find a place in their playing XI in the initial phase of the lucrative T20 league.
Earlier this month, RCB were involved in a bidding war with Iyer’s former side Kolkata Knight Riders before securing his service.
Defending champions RCB bolstered their squad by securing Iyer, Jacob Duffy and Mangesh Yadav, among others during the auction held on December 16 in Abu Dhabi.
“Venkatesh Iyer will not be in the playing eleven at the start. You do not want to create doubt in a winning team. That is probably why they did not go after a Ravi Bishnoi, so that Suyash Sharma does not feel threatened by a senior India spinner,” JioStar expert Kumble said.
“RCB thought they might get outbid, but they did not, so they are happy to have Venkatesh Iyer.” Kumble, who captained RCB to the 2009 IPL final and became it chief mentor in 2011, said the franchise did well to keep the core of the IPL winning team.
“They (RCB) have done well to keep the core the same, back their players, and just have a few backups in case something goes wrong.
“Jacob Duffy will be a backup for Josh Hazlewood, and Jordan Cox is a like-for-like replacement for Phil Salt. Mangesh Yadav comes in as a backup for Yash Dayal. He is a left-arm seamer with a lot of potential, though he has not played much cricket.” Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar also said there could be a question mark on whether Iyer will be in the RCB playing XI straightaway.
“Venkatesh Iyer had a lot of eyes on him since last season. He has been consistent and you can see his confidence. Dinesh Karthik, the batting coach, and Malolan Rangarajan, who scouts talent for RCB, have a good option in him.
“Will he be in the playing eleven right away? There is some doubt, as this is a settled team. They wanted left-handers and got them. They can adjust Venkatesh in the eleven, like they did with Krunal Pandya last season. Krunal played well, so the lack of a top spinner was not felt. Suyash Sharma had a good season.”
Head coach Andy Flower expressed his happiness at acquiring Iyer for RCB.
“Venkatesh Iyer has strong leadership qualities. That is great to have in the dressing room and on the field. We are happy to get him and I look forward to working with him. When you plan well and have a good strategy, you know your limits.
“I think KKR had a little extra money left in their purse after purchasing Cameron Green. They were probably betting some of it on Venkatesh Iyer because they had some money left, but in the end, we ended up acquiring Venkatesh and we are really happy with it.”
Published – December 26, 2025 03:44 pm IST
