IPL 2025 auction news: CEO Venky Mysore explains KKR’s bidding war for Venkatesh Iyer, says ‘crucial to maintain…’

IPL 2025 auction news: Venky Mysore, the CEO of sporting franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), explained the team's rationale for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday (November 24, 2024).

In a move that shocked and surprised many, the 2024 IPL champions team decided to drop their tournament-winning captain, Shreyas Iyer and instead launched an all-out bidding war for Venkatesh Iyer against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

‘Main Priority to Maintain Balance’

Explaining the thought process behind their auction decisions, Mysore told reporters his team's priority was to “maintain balance and have some core players”. The team has marquee signings such as Quinton de Kock and Anrich Nortje.

“Auctions are always unpredictable. It’s about the type of players you want and how they fit into your strategy. Prices certainly have a meaning within a certain band, but auctions often surprise you," Mysore said.

He called the price increase “natural” and stressed that maintaining the team's “core” was the main objective.

“With salary caps increasing, it’s natural for prices to expand too. For us, it was crucial to maintain our core. We’ve retained six players and brought back three from last year. That was the main objective,” he said.

KKR Gets Venkatesh Iyer for Whopping ₹23.7 crore

Notably, Shah Rukh Khan-backed KKR bought back Venkatesh Iyer for an eye-watering ₹23.75 crore at the IPL mega auction in Jeddah. They chose not to retain Shreyas Iyer.

Speaking to the media after the pick, 29-year-old Venkatesh Iyer said he would be “more than happy” to take on the captaincy challenge.

“I had the opportunity to captain the side in Nitish Rana’s absence when he was unfortunately injured, and I was the vice-captain as well. I’ve always believed that captaincy is just a tag, but leadership is about creating an environment where everyone feels they can play for this team and contribute. If given the responsibility, I would be more than happy to take it on. Absolutely (I'm ready for it),” he stated.

And he has reason to be happy. Venkatesh Iyer's buy was the third most expensive one at the Sunday night mega auction. The top two were: Rishabh Pant, who was grabbed by Lucknow Super Giants for ₹27 crore and Shreyas Iyer,  roped in by Punjab Kings for ₹26.75 crore.

‘Happy For The Confidence Shown’

Addressing the team management, he added, “Together, we will aim to defend the championship and continue our winning campaign. Thank you very much for picking me in your squad. Thank you, KKR, for trusting me and showing so much belief in me. I'm extremely delighted to be part of Kolkata Knight Riders again. To be honest, I'm at a loss for words, but I'm elated to be part of the KKR team once again.”

“The KKR coach (Chandrakant Pandit) was also my coach in Madhya Pradesh. We were discussing how I felt nervous about coming back to KKR. But again, it’s a message of the franchise's focus on winning championships and player development and how much they value its players. I’m thrilled to play for KKR again and happy they’ve shown so much confidence in me,” he added.

Venkatesh Iyer has represented the Indian cricket team in nine T20Is and two ODIs.

(With inputs from PTI)