The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who are defending champions, made some significant purchases at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction held in Abu Dhabi, thus reinforcing their team even more. The team decided to keep 17 players from the previous season before the auction. The auction was entered with a need for eight players and a remaining purse of INR 16.40 crore.
The core players were retained and the franchise had already formed a strong squad which needed only a few areas filled, which was done perfectly they have bought eight players at the auction for INR 16.15 crore total. Two of their purchases were the best by all means, as they needed first to solve their No.3 batting position and, second, to add a backup for Josh Hazlewood. They successfully took care of both issues at once and made sure that they have decent players for those roles.
Let’s see how RCB made the IPL 2026 auction a success with two smart buys.
Venkatesh Iyer
In IPL 2025, Devdutt Padikkal was predominantly the man at No.3 for RCB scoring 247 runs in 10 matches with a strike rate of 150.60. But then he got injured, and the team was left with no strong backup options. Therefore, they had to rope in Mayank Agarwal as a temporary replacement. Mayank did fine with the team.
This revealed the weakness in the No. 3 position of the defending champions, as there were no backup options for their top-order batters. To tackle this concern effectively, RCB entered into a bidding war with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) that was full of stakes but in the end, they got Venkatesh Iyer for INR 7 crore. The seasoned all-rounder of Indian origin brings to the team the quality of depth and the quality of flexibility.
In the past auction as well, RCB went against KKR in a bidding race for Venkatesh Iyer, but KKR had the upper hand that time. This time RCB got him for almost one third of the previous price, less than one third to be exact. RCB has always held Venkatesh Iyer in high regard and has placed a bid for him every time his name has come up at the auction. First it was Rajat Patidar who got into RCB and now another Madhya Pradesh player.
There are more possibilities for RCB because Venkatesh Iyer can bat at No.3 and also in the middle order. Besides, RCB has to consider between Padikkal and Iyer now that they have sufficient coverage there. In his 62 IPL matches Venkatesh Iyer scored 1468 runs.
Despite his bad outing in IPL 2025, where he could manage only 142 runs at a meek average of 20.28, Venkatesh Iyer is believed to be the one who would be doing great as he would be given a fixed position to bat unlike the previous season when he had to keep shifting his place in the order.
Jacob Duffy
Another requirement that RCB had at the auction was that of a substitute pacer for Josh Hazlewood. The Australian fast bowler has been injured from time to time lately. It was a good thing for RCB that he was active for 12 matches throughout the IPL 2025 season. RCB had his backup in Lungi Ngidi and also in Nuwan Thushara in the squad. However, they let go of Ngidi and kept Thushara which created a void in the pace department.
At the IPL 2026 auction, the defending champions signed Jacob Duffy for INR 2 crore, which was his base price. This could end up being one of the smartest purchases of the auction, as the New Zealand pacer is currently the No.2 in the T20I rankings. In the year 2025, he took 35 wickets in 21 games.
RCB have signed a quality T20 wicket taking bowler for their IPL 2026 bowling attack at a price of just INR 2 crore. Even the director of RCB considered Duffy a bargain since he was predicted to get strong bids. Still, other teams did not show any interest in him, and RCB was able to buy him at his base price. Duffy can act as a reserve as well as can join Hazlewood if the conditions are in favor of quick bowlers.
Jacob Duffy is similar to Hazlewood in that both of them use their height and speed to get more bounce and also possess the talent of getting wickets, particularly during the powerplay
