Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s most nail-biting moment was last November in Riyadh during the IPL mega auction was when they battled Kolkata Knight Riders in a frenzied bid for all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer. The bidding war did not take long to mount before RCB was ready to pay up to INR 23.50 crore, only to be narrowly outbid by KKR at a whopping INR 23.75 crore for Iyer. According to former Indian cricketer Abhinav Mukund not buying Venkatesh Iyer turned the tables in RCB’s favour.
Smart Spending Pays Off
Even without picking up Iyer, what began as a loss eventually proved to be a strategic gain for RCB. Rather than splurging their entire purse on one player, the team diversified the money among several tested performers recruiting Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood for INR 12.50 crore and English wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt for INR 11.50 crore. Both ended up making significant contributions in enabling RCB to end an 18-year-long drought for an IPL title.
Iyer’s Failures and Abhinav Mukund’s View
Venkatesh Iyer, on the other hand, did not deliver. The Indian all-rounder scored only 142 runs from 11 innings, finding it hard to justify the big price tag. Abhinav Mukund, a former India cricketer, commented on the aspect, mentioning that spending too much money on one player may just come back to haunt one, particularly with the added weight of expectations.
“In hindsight, they must be thinking, thank God we didn’t go all the way from Venkatesh Iyer. Because their last losing bid was Venkatesh Iyer. And the next three buys were Josh Hazlewood, Jitesh Sharma and I think Phil Salt. Those were the next three buys. And they saved so much in the bank for day two when Bhuvneshwar Kumar came in. So, it was a very clear plan that they wanted to buy all of these players,” he added.
De Villiers’ Candid Reflection Inspires Debate
Mukund also weighed in on the shocking confession by one-time RCB star AB de Villiers that he used to feel “overpaid” playing for the IPL. Mukund concurred, adding that franchises tend to neglect balance in an effort to sign big-ticket players. Citing the example of RCB positively, he pointed out how the two dependable match-winners in Salt and Hazlewood were picked up by them for the same combined figure they were nearly ready to offer for Iyer.
“I was sitting next to AB de Villiers and he told me something that I don’t think any legend in the IPL has said. But he genuinely meant it, he said it from a place of emotion. He said I was overpaid. I’m overpaid, I thought I was overpaid because I feel like all of the other elements that you’re talking about, right? Where you’re able to buy so many other superstar players, all those match winners you’re talking about. The highest amount of money that they spent on was for someone like a Phil Salt or Josh Hazlewood. They didn’t cross 15,” he said.
A Strategic Choice That Worked Out
Aside from Salt and Hazlewood, RCB recruited the likes of Jitesh Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, making their team deeper and more experienced. In retrospect, their restraint during the auction and clever allocation of money was crucial to their record-breaking championship campaign, so their failed bid for Iyer was a lucky stroke of luck.
