Venkatesh Iyer sold to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for this price in IPL 2026 auction

When the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) left their premier Indian all-rounder, Venkatesh Iyer, out of the squad in the retention process, he was expected to go back to the franchise for a lower price. And the three-time champions showed their interest for a moment. Iyer can be a valuable player for his all-round skills with the bat and ball in hand.

Venkatesh Iyer’s opening bid came from the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for a price of INR 2 crore before the Gujarat Titans (GT) joined them in the war and continued raising the paddle a couple of times. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) looked firm with their eyes on the player as they won the small battle against the Lucknow side for a price of INR 3.40 crore.

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Kolkata finally raised its paddle and continued till INR 6.80 crore. But they couldn’t go over that mark, having got a small purse to build up the squad for the next couple of seasons. The defending champions increased their strength with another Indian pace bowling all-rounder in the side.

Venkatesh Iyer sold to RCB for INR 7 crore

Iyer didn’t have a great last season with the bat as he managed only 142 runs in seven innings at an average of little over 20 and a strike rate of 139.21 with the help of one half-century at the best score of 60. Even with the ball, he hasn’t been needed much in the entire league’s tournament, which has been quite surprising.

But in Bengaluru, he will get a new role, which could probably bring him back to his brutalness. A few hours before the auction, the southpaw clubbed a fine knock of 70 runs for Madhya Pradesh against Punjab in Pune, which has perhaps pushed his price a little up.

Apart from Iyer, Cameron Green was the biggest buy of the auction with the KK signing him for a price of INR 25.20 crore. Wanindu Hasaranga was a steal, with him making the move to the Lucknow Super Giants while the Mumbai Indians got their wicket-keeper, Quinton de Kock, back in the side.