When Venkatesh Iyer’s bids soared during the IPL 2025 mega auction, more than one eyebrow was raised. Sure he is a good player, but was he worth as much as Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore seemed to value him? Clearly, both franchises thought he was, and were very keen to get his services. Eventually, KKR won the bid at ₹23.75 crore. Whether Venkatesh was ‘worth’ it or not is a moot question. Players are worth as much as teams value them, and Venkatesh offers skillsets few others have.
Despite that, the weight of a big price tag can weigh players down at times. When IPL 2025 began, Venkatesh started with a couple of failures in the two times he batted. But against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he shed that burden and smashed an astonishing 60 off 29 balls, having got only 5 runs off his first 8 balls. Once he had got comfortable in the middle, he exploded.
Venkatesh Iyer’s blitz
It started with a hook over fine leg off a Simarjeet Singh bouncer that sailed over fine leg, and Venkatesh was unstoppable after that. He even took down Pat Cummins for 21 runs in one over, reaching fifty off 25 balls. It was clinical hitting, the kind that Venkatesh excels at. No boundary or bowler was safe. He had sussed the slowness of the pitch at Eden Gardens, and once he got used to the pace, he was swinging through the line with great connection.
“To be honest, I didn’t get a lot of runs in the first two games, so I just wanted to get a feel of the wicket,” he said at the innings break. “Because SRH bowled well and the ball was holding, so the message was – not just for me but for anyone who wants to walk in and bat – to take their time, and once you are adapted to the wicket, then you can go all out.”
IPL auction dynamics explained
When Venkatesh’s name came up for bidding, the two teams with the highest purses were RCB and KKR. However, RCB had 74.25 crore left to KKR’s 51 crore. RCB had budgeted a high amount to get back Yuzvendra Chahal, and they put in a bid of 14.50 crore for him. However, when the bids kept rising above that, RCB thought they couldn’t afford Chahal, and let him go.
That also meant they had a lot of budget freed up, because they knew that whoever they picked as a leggie in place of Chahal was unlikely to go very high. So while they might have initially budgeted in the range of ₹12-15 crore for Venkatesh, they could afford to go higher. What they didn’t bank on was how much KKR wanted their star back. But KKR had seen and experienced the value that Venkatesh brought to them on the field and off it, and went all in.
The reasons Venkatesh was so sought after are manifold: he’s a left-hand batter. He can bat anywhere in the top six. He’s a team-man. And if needed, he can chip in with overs too. RCB needed someone just like that at No.3. But KKR needed their man back more. That is why Venkatesh’s price shot up to where it did. He had the unique skillsets that two teams desperately wanted, and it happened to be the two with the highest budgets remaining when his name came up.
The 2024 season
In the galaxy of stars KKR had in IPL 2024, Venkatesh’s performance went under the radar somewhat. But he had a spectacular season, averaging 46.25 at a strike rate of 158.8. And on at least two occasions when he got out, he had absolutely middled the ball, only for fielders to pull off great catches.
He had walked in at a variety of points – early on, in the middle and at the death, and seemed free-flowing no matter what position he came in. Teams clearly saw not just the stats, but the form and versatility behind them. Just like how a price tag can create pressure, an innings like this can free up a player too, and the rest of IPL 2025 could hold great possibilities for Venkatesh Iyer.
