KKR vs SRH: Why Venkatesh Iyer got £ 23.75 at the Mega Auction | Mint

When the bid of Venkatesh Iyer increased during the IPL 2025 Mega Auction, more than one eyebrow was raised. Sure he is a good player, but was he worth so much as Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore appreciated him? It is clear that both franchises thought he was, and it was very eager to obtain his services. Eventually, KKR won the bid at £ 23.75. Whether Venkatesh was “worth” or not is an important question. Players are worth as much as teams appreciate it, and Venkatesh offers skills that few others have. Nevertheless, the weight of a large price tag players can sometimes fall. When IPL 2025 began, Venkatesh began with some failures in the two times he batted. But against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he shed the burden and hit an astonishing 60 of 29 balls, after getting just 5 runs from his first 8 balls. After getting comfortable in the middle, he exploded. Venkatesh Iyer’s Blitz It started with a hook over a fine leg of a Simarjeet Singh Bouncer that sailed over a fine leg, and Venkatesh was unstoppable afterwards. He even took Pat Cummins for 21 runs in one ear and reached fifty of 25 balls. It was clinical hit, the kind on which Venkatesh excels. No border or bowler was safe. He spotted the inertia of the pitch at Eden Gardens, and as soon as he got used to the pace, he swung through the line with a large connection. “To be honest, I didn’t get many runs in the first two games, so I just wanted to get a feeling of the wicket,” he said at the turn. “Because SRH bowled well and held the ball, the message – not just for me, but for everyone who wants to walk in and bat – to take their time, and once you are adapted to the wicket, you can go out.” The IPL auction dynamics explained when Venkatesh name emerged, the two teams with the highest wallets were RCB and KKR. However, RCB kept 74.25 crore to the 51 crore of KKR. RCB budgeted a large amount to get Yuzvendra Chahal back, and they put a bid of 14.50 crore for him. However, when the bid was still rising above, RCB thought they couldn’t afford Chahal and let him go. It also meant that they freed a lot of budget because they knew that whoever chose them as a leggie in place of Chahal probably wouldn’t be very high. So, although they initially budgeted in the £ 12-15 crore for Venkatesh, they could afford to go higher. What they did not bank with was how many KKR their star wanted back. But KKR saw and experienced the value that Venkatesh brought to them on the field and from there, and went in everything. The reasons why Venkatesh was so sought after are very dull: He is a left hand. He can bat everywhere in the top six. He is a team man. And if necessary, he can also hit the over. RCB just needs someone on No.3. But KKR needed their husband more. That’s why Venkatesh’s price shot up where it did. He had the unique skills that two teams desperately wanted, and it happened to be the two with the highest budgets left when his name came up. The 2024 season in the Stars KKR galaxy in IPL 2024, Venkatesh’s performance went somewhat under the radar. But he had a spectacular season, an average of 46.25 at a strike rate of 158.8. And on at least two occasions when he got out, he absolutely hampered the ball, just for field workers to pull off big catches. He walked in at various points, in the middle and at death, and looked free-flowing, no matter what position he came in. Teams clearly saw not only the statistics, but the form and versatility behind them. Just like how a price tag can cause pressure, a turn like this can also free a player, and the rest of IPL 2025 can have great possibilities for Venkatesh Iyer.