What will be Venkatesh Iyer Batting Position for RCB in IPL 2026?

The Indian Cricket Team all-rounder has found a new home in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Madhya Pradesh cricketer will be playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 2026 edition of the cash-rich league.

Venkatesh Iyer, who was one of the most expensive players in the IPL 2025, was released by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. This freed up their purse by 23.75 crore and they entered the auction with the largest purse.

It was expected that Venkatesh Iyer would be picked by KKR as they invested heavily in him over the last few years. But that wasn’t the case as it was the 2025 IPL champions who acquired his services in the IPL 2026 auction.

RCB was involved in a bidding war with KKR for the all-rounder. Venkatesh Iyer IPL 2026 price turned out to be INR 7 crore. His addition makes the RCB even stronger now as they have a power-packed batting lineup.

What will be Venkatesh Iyer Batting Position in IPL?

With Venkatesh Iyer getting picked by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, one of the common questions that is bothering fans is what will be Venkatesh Iyer's batting position in the RCB line-up. In this piece, we will take a look at that.

Venkatesh Iyer RCB batting position is likely to be at the top three. He has batted in the top order for the majority of his IPL career. Therefore, he is expected to take the number three spot in the XI. But it will be a tough call for management to take as Devdutt Padikkal has been batting brilliantly at three.

Venkatesh Iyer IPL auction 2026 was among the most trending topics. He played as a finisher for India in T20Is, but he wasn’t highly successful, batting down the order. The RCB needs a way to bat him in the top order and they are expected to do so, especially after shelling out this much money for him.

RCB Playing 11 for IPL 2026 (Probable)

• Phil Salt
• Virat Kohli
• Devdutt Padikkal/Venkatesh Iyer
• Rajat Patidar
• Tim David
• Jitesh Sharma
• Romario Shepherd
• Krunal Pandya
• Bhuvneshwar Kumar
• Josh Hazlewood
• Suyash Sharma

Venkatesh Iyer IPL Stats

Venkatesh Iyer has played 61 games in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and has slammed 1468 runs at a strike rate of over 137. Also, he has hammered 12 fifties and one century in the league while playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders, one of the best teams in IPL.

With the ball too, Venkatesh has been handy with the ball. He has taken three wickets at an economy of economy of 10. He is also one of the best all-rounders in IPL. Iyer will be a vital cog in the wheel for RCB as they look to defend their title next year. However, it remains to be seen at what position he bats.