Venkatesh Iyer gets almost three times pay hike at IPL 2025 auction as KKR splurges whopping INR 23.75 crore
Reigning Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) re-bought all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer for a whopping INR 23.75 crore. The Knight Riders roped him after an intense bidding war with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
Iyer was the Knight Riders first purchase at the auction. They pulled away from signing IPL-wininng captain Shreyas Iyer inside INR 10 crore during the bidding war after releasing him at IPL 2025 retentions.
With INR 23.75 crore, Venkatesh briefly became the third costliest player at IPL 2025 auctions. He was only behind Rishabh Pant (INR 27 crore) and Shreyas Iyer (INR 26.75 crore) by Lucknow Super Giants and Punjab Kings, respectively.
Venkatesh Iyer was consistent for the Kolkata-based franchise, scoring 404 and 370 in his last two seasons. The southpaw has played 51 matches, scoring 1326 runs at a strike rate of 137.12, including a ton and 11 half-centuries. The part-time medium pacer has also bagged three wickets.
“I would love to be there” – What Venkatesh Iyer said after missing out on KKR's IPL 2025 retentions
Venkatesh Iyer wished to return to the Kolkata-based franchise after being ignored among five retained players for IPL 2025. He recently told Revsportz (via India Today):
“This is a family. There’s so much emotion. It kind of makes me teary-eyed that my name is not on the retention list but I am a practical guy. I understand how it works. I was on the receiving end of being one of the retentions in 2022 and I knew how it feels to be retained and to be left out as well.”
“I would love to be there and the doors are open. If I have a good auction then I might still end up playing for the team I love the most,” he added.
Venkatesh, however, credited the Knight Riders following their retentions. He said in the same interaction:
“KKR has had a very good retention. I think they have covered easily 14-16 overs and with the bat, they have almost covered five positions. So, they had a great retention but I would have loved to be on that list. KKR have given me a big breakthrough and I have given everything for KKR and beyond cricket, there’s something called emotion.”
KKR’s IPL 2025 retentions:
Rinku Singh (Rs 13 Crore), Varun Chakravarthy (Rs 12 Crore), Sunil Narine (Rs 12 Crore), Andre Russell (Rs 12 Crore), Harshit Rana (Rs 4 Crore), and Ramandeep Singh (Rs 4 Crore).