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NEW DELHI: Venkatesh Iyer has entered the IPL 2026 mini-auction with a base price of Rs 2 crore after being released by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).Speaking on The Great Indian Cricket Show on DD Sports, KKR head coach Abhishek Nayar explained that it was Iyer’s attitude, more than his numbers, that stood out during the trials.“I actually picked him because of his attitude. On day one, Venkatesh Iyer walked in with swagger; he performed, but he never looked at us or tried to please anyone. I thought he was someone with a lot of attitude,” Nayar said, ANI reported quoting a release from The Great Indian Cricket Show.Nayar recalled another moment from the trials. “On day two, we gave him a game. In the final over, when our bowler cramped, Venky shouted from the boundary, ‘I will bowl the last over.’ He bowled and conceded 18 runs, but what I loved was his willingness to face adversity.”“The trial mattered less to him than proving to himself that he was doing the right thing. That conviction stayed with me,” Nayar added.Venkatesh Iyer made his IPL debut for KKR in 2021, scoring 370 runs in 10 matches as the team reached the final, where they lost to Chennai Super Kings.In KKR’s title-winning season in 2024, the left-hander again scored 370 runs. In the 2025 season, he scored 142 runs in 11 matches, including one fifty, at an average of 20.28.
