"RCB ko bus KKR kaa ekk player chahiye Venkatesh Iyer" - Fans react to KKR's massive release ahead of IPL 2026 Auction

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made a massive release, letting go of Venkatesh Iyer ahead of the IPL 2026 Auction. He was acquired for a huge sum of ₹23.75 crore during the mega auction ahead of IPL 2025.

Following an underwhelming performance, his release was expected, given his massive price tag. In 11 matches, he scored just 142 runs from seven innings at an average of 20.28 and a strike-rate of 139.21. Moreover, he did bowl a single over in the entire tournament.

As Venkatesh Iyer was released, fans were with the management for taking the call. A section of fans also expressed that defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) would go for Venkatesh in the upcoming auction. Notably, RCB were involved in an intense bid with KKR for the 30-year-old last time around.

"Rcb ko bus kkr kaa ekk player chahiye venkatesh iyer Or kuch nahi ✌😎 (RCB needed just player of KKR that is Venktaesh Iyer and nothing else)," a fan wrote on X. "This move was necessary in the interest of the team. The only request is that choose the players at the table. If you predecide to take someone, you end up wasting your purse by unnecessarily investing in that player and buying an overpriced player can disrupt the team's balance," another user tweeted.

Below are some other reactions from fans on X:

Along with Venkatesh, KKR also released Luvnith Sisodia, Quinton De Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, Mayank Markande (traded), Chetan Sakariya, Anrich Nortje, and Spencer Johnson.

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Will KKR look to buy Venkatesh Iyer for a lower price?

As KKR invested a massive sum to buy Venkatesh Iyer, his release came as a slight surprise, despite it being expected, given his performance. However, there could be a possibility that the franchise would look to buy him back for a lesser price in the IPL 2026 auction.

When they won their third IPL title in 2024, Venkatesh played an important role with the bat. The left-hander scored 370 runs in 13 innings at an average of 46.25 and a strike-rate of 158.79 with four half-centuries.

Overall, in 62 IPL matches so far, he has scored 1468 runs at an average of 29.95 and a strike-rate of 137.32 with a hundred and 12 half-centuries.

Edited by Rishab Vm