Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) director Mo Bobat explained the franchise’s strategy behind bidding a massive ₹23.50 crore for batting all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer during the IPL 2025 auction. RCB faced a fierce contest with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the 30-year-old, who was eventually secured by KKR for ₹23.75 crore.
The gamble did not pay off, as Iyer struggled to make an impact, scoring just 142 runs at an average of 20.28 across 11 matches. Months after the IPL 2025 season, Bobat spoke to Cricbuzz, elaborating on why RCB had pursued Iyer so aggressively.
“Our original budget was something like 14 or 15 for him, as probably a maximum number, hoping we’d get him for less than that. And then, obviously, the bidding gets a little bit out of control.”
“When we were bidding, we were thinking we still weren’t compromising the rest of our squad, because we’re just using the money we didn’t spend on Yuzi. And then we did get closer to a point where we weren’t just spending the Venky Iyer budget and the money we didn’t spend on Yuzi,” he said.
Bobat further added: “We were starting to eat into these other roles, and that’s when we pulled out. Venky was someone we were really interested in. Andy and myself and DK met him before the auction. He’s a player that we like in terms of his skills. He’s a character that I really respect. I think he would have been another one of those really senior, leaderful kind of characters that we recruited. So, we were really keen on him.”
“Phil Salt Was Our Top Priority”- Mo Bobat
Mo Bobat revealed that missing out on Venkatesh Iyer prompted RCB to go all-in for England wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt during the IPL 2025 auction. The franchise faced another battle with KKR but eventually secured Salt for ₹11.50 crore.
The move paid off handsomely, as the 28-year-old amassed 403 runs at an average of 33.58, striking at an impressive 175.98 in the IPL 2025 season.
“When we didn’t get Venky, we prioritised making sure that we would lock in Phil Salt. And then, obviously, from that point onwards, we managed to get all of our other targets that we set out. Yuzi and Venky were probably the two that we didn’t get,” said Bobat (via the aforementioned source).
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