Former India spinner Anil Kumble believes that Venkatesh Iyer will have to sit out of the playing XI for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the early stages of IPL 2026.
Venkatesh’s former team, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), fought with RCB for the left-handed batter, but RCB had the last laugh and acquired his services for INR 7 crore.
“Venkatesh Iyer will not be in the playing eleven at the start,” Kumble, a former RCB captain, said on JioStar. “You do not want to create doubt in a winning team. That is probably why they did not go after Ravi Bishnoi, so that Suyash Sharma does not feel threatened by a senior India spinner. RCB thought they might get outbid, but they did not, so they are happy to have Venkatesh Iyer.”
Kumble further praised RCB for keeping their core intact and making some smart choices in the form of Jacob Duffy, Jordan Cox, and others.
“They (RCB) have done well to keep the core the same, back their players, and add 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,” he added.
The 31-year-old endured a poor season in 2025, scoring just 142 runs in 11 matches at an average of 20.29. There is likely to be a toss-up between Venkatesh and Devdutt Padikkal, who was retained by the defending champions.
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