Venkatesh Iyer sparked a fierce bidding war at the IPL auction after entering with a base price of ₹2 crore. The race began with Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans showing early interest, before Royal Challengers Bengaluru stepped in at ₹3 crore. Kolkata Knight Riders soon joined the contest at ₹3.40 crore, setting up an intense duel with RCB. The bidding escalated rapidly, but KKR eventually bowed out at ₹7 crore, allowing Royal Challengers Bengaluru to secure Iyer after a high-stakes showdown. From Rs 23.75 crore, Venkatesh Iyer drops down to Rs 7 crore - a 70 per cent value drop for the player.
Iyer struck a fluent 70 off 43 balls, with eight fours and two sixes, in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Elite 2025 Super League Group A match against Punjab at the DY Patil Academy in Ambi, Pune, on Tuesday.Iyer, who rose to prominence after a standout IPL debut season with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2021, was among the players released by the three-time champion ahead of the auction. That breakout campaign earned him a place in the national side and established him as one of the most exciting domestic all-rounders of his generation.After starring for Madhya Pradesh in the 2020–21 domestic limited-overs season, Iyer enjoyed an impressive IPL 2021. He followed it with a relatively quiet IPL 2022, but returned to form in 2023, scoring 404 runs for KKR, including a century, at an average of 28.86 and a strike rate of 145.85.
