Star India cricketer opens up on Venkatesh Iyer’s role in RCB’s playing XI, says, ‘He may not be…’
New Delhi: At the TATA IPL 2026 Auction, Royal Challengers Bengaluru strengthened their title-winning squad as they acquired star batting all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy (ranked second in T20Is), and Mangesh Yadav. On JioHotstar’s ‘TATA IPL Auction Review”, Cricket experts Anil Kumble and Sanjay Bangar, along with coach Andy Flower, broke down RCB’s strategy.
Speaking on the ‘TATA IPL Auction Review’, Anil Kumble reflecetd on RCB’s key acquisitions, “RCB thought they might get outbid, but they did not, so they are happy to have Venkatesh Iyer. Jacob Duffy will be a backup for Josh Hazlewood, and Jordan Cox is a like-for-like replacement for Phil Salt. Mangesh Yadav comes in as a backup for Yash Dayal. He is a left-arm seamer with a lot of potential, though he has not played much cricket.”
Kumble on RCB’s carefull strategy to keep their squad stable
Kumble also opened up on RCB’s carefull strategy to keep their squad stable after the auction, “Venkatesh Iyer will not be in the playing eleven at the start. You do not want to create doubt in a winning team. That is probably why they did not go after a Ravi Bishnoi, so that Suyash Sharma does not feel threatened by a senior India spinner. They have done well to keep the core the same, back their players, and just have a few backups in case something goes wrong.”
Sanjay Bangar evaluated Venkatesh Iyer’s role and impact within RCB’s established squad, “Venkatesh Iyer had a lot of eyes on him since last season. He has been consistent and you can see his confidence. Dinesh Karthik, the batting coach, and Malolan Rangarajan, who scouts talent for RCB, have a good option in him. Will he be in the playing eleven right away? There is some doubt, as this is a settled team. They wanted left-handers and got them. They can adjust Venkatesh in the eleven, like they did with Krunal Pandya last season. Krunal played well, so the lack of a top spinner was not felt. Suyash Sharma had a good season.”
RCB’s head coach expressed his happiness at signing Venkatesh Iyer
RCB’s head coach Andy Flower expressed his happiness at signing Venkatesh Iyer for RCB, “Venkatesh Iyer has strong leadership qualities. That is great to have in the dressing room and on the field. We are happy to get him and I look forward to working with him. When you plan well and have a good strategy, you know your limits. I think KKR had a little extra money left in their purse after purchasing Cameron Green. They were probably betting some of it on Venkatesh Iyer because they had some money left, but in the end, we ended up acquiring Venkatesh and we are really happy with it.”
RCB’s IPL 2026 squad: Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Nuwan Thushara, Rasikh Salam, Abhinandan Singh, and Suyash Sharma. Venkatesh Iyer, Mangesh Yadav, Jacob Duffy, Satwik Deswal, Jordan Cox, Vihaan Malhotra, Kanishk Chouhan, Vicky Ostwal