All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer will be on the wishlist of at least a few franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 mini-auction. Roped back in by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2024 mega auction for a whopping Rs 23.75 crore, Iyer is only the second Indian to set a base price of Rs 2 crore. A week ahead of the auction, KKR’s new head coach Abhishek Nayar talked about how Iyer’s swagger and attitude during the trials made him a standout.
“I actually picked him because of his attitude. On day one, Venkatesh Iyer walked in with swagger; he performed, but he never looked at us or tried to please anyone. I thought he was someone with a lot of attitude,” KKR’s then assistant coach Nayar said on Doordarshan's The Great Indian Cricket Show.
The Madhya Pradesh all-rounder had a terrific maiden IPL season, scoring 370 runs from 10 innings, including four fifties. He took three wickets at 23 apiece as well in IPL 2021.
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Nayar recalls when Iyer put his hand up and asked to bowl the final over of the innings when one of their bowlers experienced discomfort due to cramps.
“On day two, we gave him a game. In the final over, when our bowler cramped, Venky shouted from the boundary, ‘I will bowl the last over’. He bowled and conceded 18 runs, but what I loved was his willingness to face adversity,” Nayar recalled.
“The trial mattered less to him than proving to himself that he was doing the right thing. That conviction stayed with me,” he further added.
Venkatesh Iyer struggles for runs in SMAT 2025
The 30-year-old has not been at his best in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025. From seven games, he has 111 runs at an average of 22.20 and strike rate of 103.73. His high score in the ongoing tournament is unbeaten 55 which came against Bihar at KKR's homeground, the Eden Gardens.
The medium pacer has bowled in six innings and managed to bag just two wickets. It is yet to be seen whether KKR engage in a bidding war to rope him back in again.