Explained the logic behind acquiring all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer at a hefty price in the IPL 2025 mega auction. The IPL 2025 mega auction in Jeddah saw some surprising picks, one of which was Venkatesh’s return to KKR. During this tough bidding war, KKR did not shy away from spending money to bring the all-rounder back to Eden Gardens. After fending off competition from the rest of the franchises, Venkatesh was sold by KKR, who broke the bank by buying him for Rs 23.75 crore, the fourth-highest price in the history of the cash-rich league.
All-out effort to bring back Venkatesh Iyer
Mysore explained his decision to make every effort to bring back Venkatesh Iyer and said during a press conference, “That’s how auctions go. Ultimately, it’s about which player you want and what kind of player you want. It [prices] surprises you all the time. When you have a salary cap like this, which keeps going up, the prices will go up.”
For us, it was about retaining our core. We kept six players and have brought back 2-3 players from last year. That was the thinking. We certainly didn’t want to find ourselves in a situation where we didn’t want him back. But overall, it is all balanced,” he said.
During KKR’s title-winning campaign in IPL 2024, Venkatesh scored 370 runs at an average of 46.25 with a strike rate of 158.80. When KKR faced SRH in the first play-off, Venkatesh scored an unbeaten 51 to ensure that KKR reached the target with more than six overs to spare.
