RCB New Recruit Bags Four-Wicket Haul, Eyes Bigger Role in IPL 2026

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) new recruit Venkatesh Iyer, representing Madhya Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) 2025–26, shone with the ball against Tripura at the Narendra Modi Stadium Ground B in Motera, Ahmedabad.

Venkatesh Iyer Leads with the Ball for Madhya Pradesh

In the match, Madhya Pradesh bowled first and restricted Tripura to 286 for seven wickets . Captain Venkatesh Iyer was the pick of the bowlers, taking four wickets. He bowled 10 overs and conceded 44 runs at an economy rate of 4.4, which was the best in the innings, as every other bowler went for more than five runs per over. He dismissed both the openers, Tejasvi Jaiswal and Udiyan Bose. He then took the key wicket of Vijay Shankar, who was batting on 91. His final wicket was that of Sentu Sarkar. In the ongoing VHT, Iyer has taken five wickets in three innings.

Earlier this month, the MP all-rounder picked up three wickets and conceded only 17 runs in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) match against Jharkhand.

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Venkatesh Iyer Set for Bigger Role with RCB in IPL 2026

After a disappointing season with KKR, where he scored only 142 runs in seven innings, he was released by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. RCB took the opportunity and bought him for INR 7 crore. He is expected to play an important role for the defending champions in the IPL 2026 season. If he bowls regularly and performs well, defending champions could use him as an all-rounder and bat him in the middle order.

In the previous season, Devdutt Padikkal did well at No. 3 and is expected to remain in the playing XI. However, with Livingstone joining SRH, one middle-order spot is still open, and Iyer could be a good option for that role. Even though he did not have a strong season last year, his potential is well known, which is why the RCB management has always rated him highly. Earlier in the IPL 2025 auction, there was a bidding war for him, with RCB bidding until the very end, but KKR bought him for INR 23.75 crore. This time as well, both teams were involved in the bidding for the player, but RCB won.

The upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy matches could be important for him, and his form may decide his role in IPL 2026.

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