RCB unlikely to start Venkatesh Iyer immediately, says Kumble

MUMBAI: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are unlikely to hand Venkatesh Iyer an immediate place in their starting XI, according to former India captain Anil Kumble, who feels the defending IPL champions would be wary of disrupting a settled, title-winning side.

RCB secured the Madhya Pradesh all-rounder for Rs 7 crore at the IPL mini-auction, a significant reduction from the Rs 23.75 crore Kolkata Knight Riders spent to retain him last season following an inconsistent year.

“You don’t want to introduce uncertainty into a winning team,” Kumble said on JioStar’s Tata IPL Auction Review. That’s probably why RCB didn’t pursue someone like Ravi Bishnoi, so Suyash Sharma doesn’t feel under pressure from a senior India spinner, he said. They’ve kept the core intact, shown faith in their players and added cover rather than wholesale changes, he added.

Former India all-rounder Sanjay Bangar agreed, noting that Iyer has been closely watched since last season, but remains a valuable option rather than an automatic starter.

There’s a lot of attention on him, Bangar said. He’s shown consistency and confidence, but this is a settled side. Whether he plays straight away is uncertain. They wanted left-handers and have addressed that, and they can accommodate Venkatesh later, as they did with Krunal Pandya last season, he mentioned.

Iyer entered the auction with a base price of Rs 2 crore, with Lucknow Super Giants opening the bidding before Gujarat Titans, and then, KKR joined the contest. RCB ultimately won the race. Across his IPL career, the all-rounder has scored 1,468 runs at an average of 29.12 and a strike rate above 137, including a century and 12 half-centuries.