Royal Challengers Bengaluru director Mo Bobat explained the team’s logic behind aggressively bidding for Venkatesh Iyer in the IPL 2025 mega auction, only to pull out in the last minute. The KKR all-rounder was bagged for a whooping Rs 23.75 crore by the 2024 champions after RCB decided to withdraw from the bidding process when the price reached a hefty amount. RCB’s director has now explained why the team felt the need to go after Iyer and how it was connected to Yuzvendra Chahal.
Why RCB were behind Venkatesh Iyer
In an interview to Cricbuzz, the RCB official explained that by releasing Chahal, the team freed up Rs 14 crore in their purse which they thought they could use to buy a left-handed batter. However, by withdrawing from the bidding process for Venkatesh Iyer when the price reached Rs 23.5 crore, Bobat claimed that it allowed Devdutt Padikkal to become number 3 and made Phil Salt a priority. He added that it also meant there was no room for RCB to accommodate Will Jacks or ex-skipper Faf du Plessis either.
“To understand what we were doing with Venkatesh Iyer, you have to understand what didn’t happen for us with Yuzvendra Chahal,” Bobat said.
Bhuvi behind Siraj’s release
Bobat claimed that RCB had deliberated for a long period of time before releasing Mohammed Siraj. A household name in the franchise, the pacer was one of the team’s frontline bowlers since he joined the side in 2018. However, he was released ahead of the mega auction, leaving fans baffled. Explaining the rationale behind releasing Siraj, the RCB director revealed that the team’s plans to acquire the services of Bhuvneshwar Kumar would have hit a roadblock had they retained or gone after Siraj.
“We were keen to try and get Bhuvi and we felt like hanging on to Siraj would make it difficult to get Bhuvi,” he added.
