Venkatesh Iyer recently opened up about the relentless trolling KKR fans face over the franchise’s decision to release Shubman Gill. He also discussed his transition to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and expressed his amazement at their passionate fan culture.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer revealed that the fans of his former franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), would face relentless social media trolling whenever Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill scores a century.
Venkatesh Iyer played for five consecutive seasons with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) from 2021 to 2025 before he was released by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, after which he was picked up by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The Madhya Pradesh player was acquired for 23.75 crore by KKR at the 2025 auction, making him one of the most expensive IPL players.
However, Iyer took a paycut of nearly 71% to join RCB for INR 7 crore at the IPL 2026 auction. In IPL 2026, Venkatesh Iyer featured in seven matches and scored 209 runs, including a fifty, at an average of 52.25.
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Venkatesh Reveals KKR Fans’ Trolling
As Venkatesh Iyer moved on from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) following the IPL 2025 season, he spoke candidly on Aakash Chopra’s podcast about the lingering fan backlash that traces back to KKR’s decision to retain him and release Shubman Gill before the IPL 2022 mega auction.
Speaking on the former India opener-turned-cricket commentator’s podcast, Venkatesh stated that the online vitriol started when Kolkata Knight Riders retained him for INR 8 crore while letting Shubman Gill go before the IPL 2022 mega auction.
“When Shubman was not retained, I was retained, and when Shreyas was not picked, that money was spent on me. Both times social media made me feel like ‘you are the reason most of us are unhappy’, which is uncalled for,” Venkatesh said.
“I have been subject to a lot of hate for a long time. Even till today, if Shubman is getting a hundred, you go to a KKR page, people would be commenting, ‘in search of gold, we lost a diamond’ and all of that stuff,” the 31-year-old added.
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Venkatesh Iyer was retained by KKR for INR 8 crore, and Shubman Gill moved to Gujarat Titans via the pre-auction draft for INR 8 crore. Despite being the team’s prolific batter, Gill was released by Kolkata Knight Riders alongside other key players as the franchise overhauled its squad ahead of the 2022 mega auction.
In 58 IPL matches for KKR, Gill aggregated 1417 runs, including 10 fifties, at an average of 31.48 and a strike rate of 123.
Fan Culture at RCB
Despite playing one season for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Venkatesh Iyer was in awe of the franchise’s fan culture, stating that the passion and commitment of the Bengaluru faithful operate on an entirely different level.
“You won’t believe it, but I saw people actually worshipping the RCB jersey before matches. This was something completely different, fandom at an unbelievable scale.” Iyer told Aakash Chopra.
Venkatesh Iyer is likely to be retained by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru for the upcoming IPL season, as the franchise management continues to explore options to secure his signature ahead of the deadline.
In his IPL career, Venkatesh has aggregated 1677 runs, including a century and 13 fifties, at an average of 31.64 in 69 matches.
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