India all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer on Tuesday witnessed a dramatic turn at the ongoing IPL auction. The bidding began with Iyer going under the hammer at his base price of Rs 2 crore. Lucknow Super Giants initially raised the paddle for him. After a brief pause, Gujarat Titans joined the race. The bidding intensified as Royal Challengers Bengaluru then superseded Kolkata Knight Riders. Iyer, who fetched INR 23.75 crore in last year’s mega auction in Jeddah, was snapped up for INR 7 crore this time, marking a steep 71 per cent pay cut.
The batting all-rounder scored 141 runs in nine matches with a strike rate of over 105.22 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26.
The 30-year-old has only played for one IPL franchise, the Kolkata Knight Riders. In the most recent season, he scored 142 runs at an average of 20.29 and a strike rate of 139.22.
