Dinesh Karthik Backs Venkatesh Iyer in RCB at just ₹7CR

Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Venkatesh Iyer was sold to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at INR 7 crore. RCB is Venkatesh Iyer new IPL team for the 2026 season. There was a thrilling bidding battle between KKR and RCB, which reminded people of last year's auction when KKR managed to get Iyer at INR 23.75 crore, beating RCB in the bidding war. It's safe to say now that RCB have avenged that loss.

Venkatesh Iyer IPL auction 2026

It would be interesting to see how Iyer will perform for the defending IPL champions, who had their eyes on the left-hander for a long time. Interestingly, Iyer has played under former KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik, who is currently serving as a mentor and batting coach for RCB. Karthik tried to get Iyer last year as well, but they fell short of money; however, this time, he made sure that they got him in their squad and that too at a decent amount of INR 7 crore. Venkatesh Iyer RCB will be a big thing to watch in the upcoming IPL season, and it would also be interesting to see how RCB will use him in the playing XI.

Venkatesh Iyer IPL Stats

Venkatesh Iyer has played for only one IPL franchise over the years, and that's the Kolkata Knight Riders. The Madhya Pradesh all-rounder has featured in 62 matches so far in IPL and has scored 1468 runs at an average of 29.95 and a strike rate of 137.32. However, the most surprising thing is that KKR have never utilised Iyer's bowling skills fully. Iyer has shown how impactful he can be with the ball as well in the domestic cricket. So, it would be interesting to see if RCB would go with Iyer as an all-rounder or a pure batter.