{"id":41355,"date":"2025-12-16T18:40:24","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T18:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=41355"},"modified":"2025-12-16T18:40:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T18:40:24","slug":"venkatesh-iyer-headlines-rcb-s-haul-at-the-tata-ipl-2026-player-auction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=41355","title":{"rendered":"Venkatesh Iyer headlines RCB\u2019s haul at the TATA IPL 2026 Player Auction"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-41354\" src=\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IPL_Auction-RCB.jpg\" alt=\"IPL Auction RCB\" width=\"850\" height=\"612\" style=\"display: block; margin: 8px auto;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IPL_Auction-RCB.jpg 920w, https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IPL_Auction-RCB-300x216.jpg 300w, https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IPL_Auction-RCB-768x553.jpg 768w, https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IPL_Auction-RCB-150x108.jpg 150w, https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IPL_Auction-RCB-696x501.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/>Abu Dhabi: <\/strong>Royal Challengers Bengaluru made eight key additions at the TATA IPL 2026 Player Auction, headlined by the acquisition of Indian all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer for INR 7 crore, alongside New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy, who was signed for INR 2 crore.<\/p>\n<p>The defending champions further strengthened their squad depth with the signing of left-arm pacer and lower-order batter Mangesh Yadav for INR 5.2 crore, making him the fourth-highest uncapped Indian acquisition of the day. The franchise also added the hard-hitting English wicketkeeper-batter Jordan Cox, signed for INR 75 Lakhs.<\/p>\n<p>RCB further invested in youth by securing 18-year-old Satvik Deswal for INR 30 Lakhs. A talent nurtured within the RCB setup, Deswal has been part of the franchise\u2019s ecosystem as an intern (net-bowler) over the last couple of seasons, where he impressed with composure at the crease beyond his age, along with providing additional spin bowling options.<\/p>\n<p>The franchise also brought in a contingent of promising young all-rounders who have featured in the India U19 setup, through Vihaan Malhotra, Vicky Ostwal and Kanishk Chouhan, all acquired at their base price of INR 30 Lakhs.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on the acquisition of Venkatesh Iyer, RCB Head Coach Andy Flower said, \u201cThat\u2019s two years in a row that we\u2019ve tried to buy Venky. We rate him very highly, so it\u2019s great to get him on our books. We\u2019ve met with Venky and chatted with him, and we really liked him. We rate him as a competitor. I think he\u2019s a smart guy and has some really good leadership qualities as well, which is great to have in your dressing room and out on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>RCB Director of Cricket Mo Bobat further added, \u201cWe lined up two guys who are obviously very experienced and high quality. To get Venky for the price we did, we\u2019re happy with that, and to get Duffy for the price we got him for as well was pretty much a bargain, given the year he\u2019s had.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Reflecting on the squad composition, Bobat said, \u201cWe\u2019ve got a settled team, and most people can see the structure of our side because we\u2019ve retained the core of it. This auction was about developing the squad, strengthening our depth and adding some injury cover.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Speaking about the broader objectives for the season ahead, Bobat said, \u201cOur job is to assemble a team that we\u2019re proud of, put in the kind of performances we want, and be successful on the field. For me and the whole team, that\u2019s what we focus on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Reflecting on RCB\u2019s overall approach to the auction, he concluded, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say we\u2019re looking for bargain buys. I think it\u2019s a simple principle. You come to the auction with players in mind, you set yourself a budget, and if you get them for less than that, you\u2019re very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Signings at the TATA IPL 2026 Player Auction:<\/p>\n<p>Venkatesh Iyer, Jacob Duffy, Jordan Cox, Mangesh Yadav, Satvik Deswal, Vicky Ostwal, Kanishk Chouhan, Vihaan Malhotra<\/p>\n<p>Retained Players:<\/p>\n<p>Rajat Patidar, Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Krunal Pandya, Josh Hazlewood, Tim David, Jitesh Sharma, Devdutt Padikkal, Nuwan Thushara, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Bethell, Romario Shepherd, Suyash Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Yash Dayal, Abhinandan Singh, Rasikh Dar<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Abu Dhabi: Royal Challengers Bengaluru made eight key additions at the TATA IPL 2026 Player Auction, headlined by the acquisition of Indian all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer for INR 7 crore, alongside New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy, who was signed for INR 2 crore. The defending champions further strengthened their squad depth with the signing of left-arm [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket-cricket"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Venkatesh Iyer headlines RCB\u2019s haul at the TATA IPL 2026 Player Auction - IndianSportsNews.com - Latest Updated Sports News &amp; Sports Blogs of Cricket, Hockey, Golf, Football, Tennis &amp; Other Sports<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=41355\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Venkatesh Iyer headlines RCB\u2019s haul at the TATA IPL 2026 Player Auction - IndianSportsNews.com - Latest Updated Sports News &amp; Sports Blogs of Cricket, Hockey, Golf, Football, Tennis &amp; Other Sports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Abu Dhabi: Royal Challengers Bengaluru made eight key additions at the TATA IPL 2026 Player Auction, headlined by the acquisition of Indian all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer for INR 7 crore, alongside New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy, who was signed for INR 2 crore. 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