The Indian Premier League (IPL) mini-auction saw three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) lose out on Venkatesh Iyer, as the left-handed batter was acquired by defending champions Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for INR 7 crore.
The all-rounder who was picked by KKR for INR 23.75 crore before the 2025 season had a terrible outing in the last edition of the tournament, failing to score runs and living up to the high billing. This was the primary reason behind the franchise deciding to let him go ahead of the retention deadline.
However, KKR raised their paddle in the auction as it tried to buy back Venkatesh. The management attempted to acquire him by raising the bid to INR 6.8 crore; however, INR 7 crore was considered the cut-off mark, and KKR did not raise their paddle, leading to the player being acquired by RCB.
KKR coach Abhishek Nayar has finally broken his silence on losing Venkatesh, saying the franchise did try its level best to get him on board, but in the end, it wasn’t meant to be.
“Venkatesh Iyer has been a franchise player for us from the start. We tried to get him back. We felt other teams were saving money for different players, so we thought we could get him at a lower price,” said Nayar on JioHotstar.
“He is experienced and fits our setup, giving us flexibility. We tried, but RCB always seems to go after our players. This year, they got him. Venkatesh has been phenomenal for us over the years, and I wish him all the best in his new IPL journey,” he added.
Cameron Green pick
KKR, however, did manage to pick up Cameron Green for INR 25.20 crore, and this resulted in the Australian all-rounder becoming the most expensive player in the history of the tournament, surpassing Mitchell Starc.
Speaking about Green, Nayar said, “I can’t say how high we were willing to go for him, but we wanted to go all out. If we have the money, we spend it. There was no point in saving the money.”T
“The idea was to do whatever we could to get Green because he is a very important player for us. With Andre Russell gone, we need someone to take the franchise forward. So, we decided we must have Cameron Green,” he added.
Apart from Green, KKR also brought Matheesha Pathirana, Finn Allen, Tim Seifert and Rachin Ravindra in the auction and the three-time champions bolstered their squad ahead of the 2026 edition, which is set to get underway on March 26.
Ajinkya Rahane is all set to lead the franchise once again and the team would hope to make it to the playoffs after missing out in the last edition of the tournament.