Cameron Attracts Mega Greenbacks; Venkatesh Iyer’s Stocks Plummet in Tale of Two All-Rounders

Cameron Green IPL auction: If there was any chance of favouritism creeping into the auction - and let's be honest, it was a possibility - then Cameron Green was the one who effectively made it happen, sending the bidding war into overdrive to the point that he ended up as the most expensive overseas player in IPL history at Rs 25.20 crore. This wasnt a huge surprise, given the all-round skills he brings to the table, and everyone had been expecting that Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, the two franchises with the most money left to spend, would be going head to head.

As expected, KKR got the early jump on the auction, once the Mumbai Indians had begun the bidding at the Aussie's base price of ₹2 crore. It wasnt until the sum had blown up to ₹13.60 crore that CSK decided to join in on the fun, and they promptly got caught up in an almighty dogfight with the 2024 champions. But eventually they threw in the towel at ₹25 crore - a sum that was way above their remaining budget of ₹43.40 crore, which was nearly half of what they had left to spend.

Also Read: Rakul Preet Singh Hits Back at ‘Doctor’ Claiming She Underwent Plastic Surgery: ‘It’s Scary That People Like Him…’

Green has been around the IPL before with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the Mumbai Indians, and on both occasions his team made it to the playoffs. KKR will be hoping to at the very least match that level of success, especially as Green has now regained his bowling fitness after recovering from the back surgery that kept him out of the last edition of the tournament.

Only Rishabh Pant ( ₹27 crore) and Shreyas Iyer ( ₹26.75 crore) have ever managed to attract bigger bids in an IPL auction. When you factor in Green's strong all-round abilities, KKR have to be huge favourites to benefit greatly from his services - even if it is at a cost of a small fortune. And with the amount of big-name players KKR offloaded after last year's disaster, Green should slot straight in at the top of the order, where he is at his most destructive.

Also Read: Subhashree Ganguly Says Her Kids Are Getting Death Threats After Pics With Messi: ‘Didn’t Shah Rukh Take Photos?’

Venkatesh Iyer, who was pounced on by KKR for ₹23.75 crore last year before they decided to let him go this time round, also found himself the object of a bidding battle. While it wasn't as intense as the Green deal, the bidding process was pretty slow going till RCB and KKR got involved. After some serious consideration, KKR pulled out of the competition at ₹6.80 crore, which left RCB free to secure Venkatesh's services for ₹7 crore. For him, it was a big comedown from the high of last year, but at least he wasnt completely ignored in the first round - and that will have to do as a consolation prize, you might say. Unlike some other players, though, like Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan, who were completely overlooked in the first round, so he can't be too disappointed.

Also Read: Candace Owens’ Big Reveal After Erika Kirk Meeting; ‘Asked Every Single Question’