Ex-CSK star leaks 'overpaid' chat with AB de Villiers, claims RCB celebrated after failing to buy Venkatesh Iyer

Royal Challengers Bengaluru went all out for Venkatesh Iyer in the last IPL auction.

The southpaw was not retained by Kolkata Knight Riders and was expected to cause a bidding war because of his performance in recent IPL seasons.

RCB went all-out for Venkatesh Iyer

RCB, who were looking to overhaul their squad, decided to go big for the proven match-winner. They were involved in a fierce bidding war with KKR and went till INR 23.50 crore. In the end, KKR signed the left-handed batsman for INR 23.75 crore.

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With RCB failing to sign Venkatesh Iyer, former India batsman Abhinav Mukund believes it was a blessing in disguise for the Bengaluru-based outfit.

After missing out on Iyer, the Bengaluru-based outfit went on to sign Josh Hazlewood (INR 12.50 crore) and Phil Salt (INR 11.50 crore). While Iyer struggled with his form throughout IPL 2025, Hazlewood and Salt played a big role in RCB's historic IPL triumph.

Abhinav Mukund on RCB missing out on Venkatesh Iyer:

Speaking to the IPL broadcasters, Abhinav Mukund revealed a conversation with former RCB star AB de Villiers as he spoke on the franchise missing out on Iyer. He also disclosed a startling statement from de Villiers as the South African great said that he felt 'overpaid' during his IPL stint.

"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," said Mukund.

"In hindsight, they must be thinking, thank God we didn't go all the way for 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.

Iyer had a disappointing season with the bat as he managed to score only 142 runs in IPL 2025 at an average of 20. On the other hand, Hazlewood and Salt enjoyed impressive campaigns. Salt scored 403 runs at a strike-rate of over 175 while Hazlewood picked up 22 wickets.

Also Read: Yograj Singh calls Shreyas Iyer a 'criminal', drags his father into controversy with full-blown attack