Venkatesh Iyer saw a massive drop in his IPL salary as the Indian all-rounder was sold to the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru for Rs 7 crore during the IPL 2026 auction. Iyer, who was picked for a huge sum of Rs 23.75 crore by Kolkata Knight Riders during the IPL 2025 mega auction, saw a decline of 70.52% in is IPL salary from the previous year.
Iyer had a poor IPL 2025 when he scored just 142 runs from seven innings with just one fifty as his runs came at an average of just 20.28. Iyer did not bowl a single over last season as he was used as a pure batter.
Lucknow Super Giants began the bid for Iyer at his base price of Rs 2 crore before Gujarat Giants jumped in after thinking for a bit. GT dropped out quickly but RCB came in as the bid continued for a bit. Sunrisers Hyderabad also gave in a bit of a thought but did not raise their paddle as Kolkata Knight Riders entered the fray. KKR and RCB raised their paddles as the bid neared 6 crore before KKR dropped out at 7 crore, which was the winning bid for RCB.
RCB but Jacob Duffy as back-up for Josh Hazlewood
Meanwhile, the defending champions strengthened their bowling line-up as they bought New Zealand fast bowler Jacob Duffy for his base price of Rs 2 crore. Duffy would be a backup for Josh Hazlewood, who is currently injured. Hazlewood picked up a hamstring injury while playing for New South Wales against Victoria in November. He then picked up an Achilles soreness during his hamstring rehab, which then ruled him out of the Ashes.
Talking about the purse of all teams coming into the auction, Kolkata Knight Riders had the biggest purse in the auction list with Rs. 64.30 crore in their bag. They are followed by Chennai Super Kings (43.40 cr), Sunrisers Hyderabad (25.50 cr), Lucknow Super Giants (22.95 cr), Delhi Capitals (21.80 cr), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (16.40 cr), Rajasthan Royals (16.05 cr), Gujarat Titans (12.90 cr), Punjab Kings (11.50 cr) and Mumbai Indians (2.750 cr).
