Not having any RTM option, Kolkata Knight Riders spulrged ₹23.75 crores on Venkatesh Iyer, from a base price of ₹2 crore. KKR also went for wicketkeeper-batters Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, buying them for ₹3.6 and ₹2 crores respetively. Meanwhile on Monday, KKR acquired Rovman Powell.
Iyer saw a bidding war KKR faced stiff competition from LSG. It looked like they had wrapped it up for ₹7.75 crore, but RCB rushed in with a bid, and it pushed to 23.75 crore, making him the fourth-most expensive player in IPL history.
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Speaking to JioCinema, former KKR captain Eoin MOrgan wasn't impressed with their auction strategy.
"There's a lot to like about him - a left-handed batter can bat anywhere in your top five. Obviously, he has been an integral part of the Knight Riders set-up for some time now, and we normally see this sort of supply and demand for the type of player that Venkatesh is in a mini-auction. I didn't think we'd see it today, but to go for 23.75 is massive over, in my opinion, for the type of player that he is considering. When the likes of KL Rahul only go for 14, you would say two completely different types of players and different accomplishments in many ways," he said.
"I would say you've paid way over. But it was a case of two teams that were absolutely desperate for him. The men in purple and gold oversee RCB. They're just one of a number of teams that have outbid ORCB today. But he is a fine player. I think when I played alongside him, I was in his first real breakthrough year in the IPL," he added.
{{/usCountry}}"I would say you've paid way over. But it was a case of two teams that were absolutely desperate for him. The men in purple and gold oversee RCB. They're just one of a number of teams that have outbid ORCB today. But he is a fine player. I think when I played alongside him, I was in his first real breakthrough year in the IPL," he added.
{{/usCountry}}KKR also roped in Anrich Nortje ( ₹6.5 crore) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi ( ₹3 crore).
KKR's IPL Auction 2025 buys-
Venkatesh Iyer ( ₹23.75 Cr)
Quinton de Kock ( ₹3.6 Cr)
Rahmanullah Gurbaz ( ₹2 Cr)
Anrich Nortje ( ₹6.5 crore)
Angkrish Raghuvanshi ( ₹3 crore)
Rovman Powell (1.50 Cr)
Manish Pandey (75 L)
Spencer Johnson (2.80 Cr)
Anukul Roy (40 L)
Moeen Ali (2 Cr)
Ajinkya Rahane (1.50 Cr)
Lunith Sisodia (30 L)
Umran Malik (75 L)
KKR's retentions-
Rinku Singh (13 Cr), Andre Russell (12 Cr), Sunil Narine (12 Cr), Varun Chakaravarthy (12 Cr), Harshit Rana (4 Cr), Ramandeep Singh (4 Cr)