They managed to sign both players for a combined total of INR 9 crore.
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) made some strong buys during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction in Abu Dhabi to further strengthen their squad. Before the auction, they retained 17 players from the previous season. They entered the auction needing eight players and had INR 16.40 crore remaining in their purse.
They already had a strong squad after retaining their core players and only needed to fill a few areas, which they did perfectly. The franchise bought eight players at the auction for a total cost of INR 16.15 crore. Out of all their buys, two stood out as the smartest, as they solved the No.3 batting position by adding a suitable player for that role and also added a backup for Josh Hazlewood. They addressed both areas well and now have good players for those positions.
Let us look at how RCB aced the IPL 2026 auction with two smart buys.
In IPL 2025, Devdutt Padikkal batted at No.3 for RCB in most matches and did well, scoring 247 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 150.60. However, he later got injured, and the team did not have strong backup options in the squad. Because of this, they had to sign Mayank Agarwal as a temporary replacement. Mayank did a decent job for the team.
This showed that the defending champions needed to strengthen their No.3 position, as they lacked reliable backups for their top order batters. To fix this issue, they went head to head with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a high stakes bidding war and eventually bought Venkatesh Iyer for INR 7 crore and added him in the RCB squad. The experienced Indian all rounder adds depth and flexibility to the team.
In the previous auction as well, RCB and KKR were involved in a bidding war for Venkatesh Iyer, but KKR won at that time. This time, RCB secured him for almost less than one third of the earlier price. RCB have always rated Venkatesh Iyer and have bid for him whenever his name has come up at the auction. Now, another Madhya Pradesh player alongside Rajat Patidar will be playing for RCB.
Venkatesh Iyer can bat at No.3 and also in the middle order, giving RCB more options. RCB will now have to choose between Devdutt Padikkal and Iyer, as they are well covered in that position. Venkatesh Iyer has played 62 IPL matches and has scored 1468 runs.
Even though Venkatesh Iyer had a disappointing IPL 2025, where he scored 142 runs at an average of 20.28, he is expected to do well as he will bat at a fixed position, unlike last season when he had to keep moving around the order.
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Another gap RCB needed to fill at the auction was finding a backup pacer for Josh Hazlewood. In recent times, the Australian fast bowler has suffered a few injuries. Fortunately for RCB, he played 12 matches in the IPL 2025 season. RCB had Lungi Ngidi as his backup and also Nuwan Thushara in the squad. However, they released Ngidi and retained Thushara, which left a gap in the pace department.
At the IPL 2026 auction, the defending champions signed Jacob Duffy for INR 2 crore, which was his base price. This could turn out to be one of the smartest buys of the auction, as the New Zealand pacer is currently ranked No.2 in the T20I rankings. In 2025, he took 35 wickets in 21 matches.
For just INR 2 crore, RCB have secured a quality T20 wicket taking bowler for their IPL 2026 bowling attack. Even the RCB director called Duffy a bargain, as he was expected to attract strong bids. However, no other team went after him, and they managed to sign him at his base price and added him in the RCB squad. Duffy can not only serve as a backup but can also play alongside Hazlewood if the conditions suit fast bowlers.
Just like Hazlewood, Jacob Duffy uses his height and pace to extract extra bounce and has the ability to pick wickets, especially in the powerplay.
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