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Kolkata Knight Riders’ Venkatesh Iyer has become the most expensive allrounder in the history of IPL auctions.
Venkatesh Iyer has scored 1326 runs in 50 IPL matches so far. (BCCI Photo)
Kolkata Knight Riders went all out to buy Venkatesh Iyer at the IPL 2025 mega auction held in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) recently. Iyer registered for the two-day event at the highest base price of Rs 2 crore and KKR, the defending IPL champions, made the opening bid before Lucknow Super Giants entered the fray which led to a bidding war.
When KKR raised the bid to Rs 7.75 crore, LSG opted out of the race but then Royal Challengers Bengaluru entered the fray and what followed became part of IPL auction history. Neither KKR nor RCB were ready to give up as they kept on raising paddles.
KKR ended up with the winning bid though, outbidding RCB to bring back their allrounder for a jawdropping Rs 23.75 crore – the third highest any player has commanded in IPL auction history.
This immediately raised questions over KKR’s auction strategy as they could’ve easily retained the 29-year-old for a lesser amount had they opted to.
KKR mentor Dwayne Bravo has defended the approach.
“Getting Venky (Venkatesh Iyer) was one of the main priorities for us, as you could see, we went all out for him. It’s good that we have 90 per cent of the players from the championship-winning team. That in itself is a positive sign,” Bravo said.
“It’s important to keep your core because when you have to build from scratch, it becomes complicated to make combinations and all. We started planning while I was in Trinidad. We had come with a proper plan, the players we wanted to target,” he added.
KKR bought 15 players during the auctions including young pace sensation Umran Malik. Bravo says he’s an admirer of the Indian pacer.
“The pace at which he (Malik) operates, I always admire him — his work ethic, energy and all. Happy that we’re able to nail him down,” he said.
KKR CEO and MD Venky Mysore said the thing tank wanted to keep hold of their core group.
“The way the retention rules are set up, the RTM rules, the salary caps, marquee players, and the two-day auction — this was definitely more demanding, for sure. Quite nerve-wracking because of the nuances. The think tank’s unanimous view was to maintain the structure, which we have done. In certain areas, we have also improved and upgraded. Hopefully, it will continue to work well,” he said.
- Location :
Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)
