Anil Kumble explains why Venkatesh Iyer may miss RCB’s playing XI in the IPL 2026

Venkatesh Iyer was bought by Royal Challengers Bengaluru for Rs 7 crore in the IPL mini auction but former captain Anil Kumble said that the pace-bowling all-rounder may not find a place in their playing XI in the initial phase of the lucrative T20 league.

Earlier this month, RCB were involved in a bidding war with Iyer’s former side Kolkata Knight Riders before securing his service.

Defending champions RCB bolstered their squad by securing Iyer, Jacob Duffy and Mangesh Yadav, among others during the auction held on December 16 in Abu Dhabi.

“Venkatesh Iyer will not be in the playing eleven at the start. You do not want to create doubt in a winning team. That is probably why they did not go after a Ravi Bishnoi, so that Suyash Sharma does not feel threatened by a senior India spinner,” JioStar expert Kumble said.

“RCB thought they might get outbid, but they did not, so they are happy to have Venkatesh Iyer.“

Kumble, who captained RCB to the 2009 IPL final and became it chief mentor in 2011, said the franchise did well to keep the core of the IPL winning team.

“They (RCB) have done well to keep the core the same, back their players, and just have a few backups in case something goes wrong.

“Jacob Duffy will be a backup for Josh Hazlewood, and Jordan Cox is a like-for-like replacement for Phil Salt. Mangesh Yadav comes in as a backup for Yash Dayal. He is a left-arm seamer with a lot of potential, though he has not played much cricket.“

With PTI Inputs.