IPL Mega Auction 2025: Venkatesh Iyer gets huge pay rise with Rs 23.75 crore return to KKR

In a sensational move at the IPL 2025 mega auction held in Jeddah, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have reclaimed their former star Venkatesh Iyer for a staggering INR 23.75 crore, making him the third-most expensive buy of the day and the costliest all-rounder in IPL history.

Iyer, who registered himself in the auction with a base price of INR 2 crore, became the center of a fierce bidding battle. Lucknow Super Giants initiated proceedings, but it soon boiled down to an intense face-off between KKR and Royal Challengers Bangalore. As the price crossed INR 23.5 crore, RCB finally backed out, leaving Kolkata to seal the deal.

IPL Mega Auction 2025 Venkatesh Iyer gets huge pay rise with Rs 23 75 crore return to KKR

This marks a sensational return for Iyer, who was previously released by KKR ahead of the 2025 season despite his consistent performances in the last two years.

From INR 20 Lakh to IPL Record-Breaker

Venkatesh Iyer\'s meteoric rise in the IPL has been nothing short of extraordinary. He started his journey with KKR in 2021 on a modest INR 20 lakh contract. By 2022, he was retained for INR 8 crore, and now, his INR 23.75 crore deal marks a huge pay rise in his IPL career earnings.

Mega IPL Auction 2025: Venkatesh Iyer IPL Career

Iyer made his IPL debut with KKR in 2021. The 29-year-old Iyer played 10 games in his debut season, scoring over 350 runs as Kolkata finished runners-up behind Chennai Super Kings. In 51 matches overall across four seasons, Iyer has aggregated 1326 at a 137.13 strike rate and three wickets.

In 2023, Iyer became only the second KKR batter in 15 years after Brendon McCullum to crack an IPL hundred. In 2023, he scored 404 runs with the help of a century and two half-centuries. In 2024, he scored 370 runs including four fifties to help Kolkata Knight Riders clinch the title after a gap of ten years.

Venkatesh Iyer shone in KKR\'s IPL 2024 final win over SunRisers Hyderabad in Chennai earlier this year, scoring an unbeaten 52 in a comfortable 114-run chase.