Kolkata Knight Riders’ big bet on Venkatesh Iyer in IPL 2025—buying the all-rounder for a record ₹23.75 crore—failed miserably, leading to his release ahead of the 2026 mini-auction. The 29-year-old’s poor performance, where he scored just 142 runs in 11 matches, had a strike rate of 139.2 (one half-century, 60 off 43 balls against DC) and lackluster bowling, exposed the franchise’s fault. Now, as the only Indian player with a base price of ₹2 crore along with Ishan Kishan, Iyer leads the pool of 1,355 players vying for 77 spots across 10 teams.
The clash at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on December 16, 2025—the third consecutive overseas event—will bring franchises face-to-face with a total purse of ₹237.55 crore, which is expected to be a tough bid for a versatile talent like Iyer. KKR will go into the field with the biggest purse of ₹64.3 crore after dropping Iyer and Andre Russell (now the ‘power coach’ as per Shah Rukh Khan), and will look to rebuild the team under new head coach Abhishek Nair.
Mysore’s candid opinion: Pressure, learning process and auction complaints
In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, CEO Venky Mysore told the whole story: “The auction creates this… confusion… If he had scored 500 runs, he would have said, ‘Hey, the price tag doesn’t matter.’ Maybe it did (smiling), and it affected Venkatesh. “This was probably his worst year with us since 2021.” Mysore described the release as the mathematics of a mini-auction, not an animosity: “The way of thinking… what would you rather do? Have as much money and flexibility as you can… or… be at the mercy of others? Last year… was a bit of a learning curve… completely dependent on the circumstances.” He strongly criticized the IPL’s retention penalty—up to ₹18 crore per player—after 2024: “You can’t punish franchises that…build teams…develop them…imagine you win a championship and then your team goes bust…I’m not in the camp that says auctions are exciting.”
Iyer’s journey? From a stellar debut in 2021 (370 runs, winning the final) to a flop in 2025, amid top-order changes and injuries. Before the buy-back before 2025, he had quietly told Mysore: “Do everything you can to get it back”—ironically.
Chances of buy-back? speculation rampant
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra believes that KKR could RTM Iyer, and pair him with a foreign pacer for balance. Rivals like RCB, PBKS are keeping an eye on the power-hitting and seaming of this left-hander. Still, Mysore’s “don’t buy cheap” mantra—with the promise of post-2025—signals a new beginning. There’s a stir on
Iyer’s future? There is a possibility of a big bet of ₹10-15 crore, but his return to KKR remains the most interesting question. In this ruthless IPL reset, talent matters more than tags—keep an eye on Abu Dhabi for fireworks.
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