IPL 2025: 3 Players KKR should have gone for instead of Venkatesh Iyer

<p>Kolkata Knight Riders spent INR 23.75 crore to acquire the services of Venkatesh Iyer in the IPL 2024 mega-auction. They invested almost half their money in the Indian all-rounder and that might have slightly affected their auction plans as the three-time champions lost a few key bidding wars in the latter part of the auction. Notably, KKR were the first team to bid for the cricketer and later, Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru joined, but the franchise didn’t give up.</p>
<p>Was it a wise decision to sign Iyer for INR 23.75 crore? That will be known when the season kicks off in March 2025. However, there are other quality players that KKR could have invested in rather than Venkatesh. Here are three possible names that the franchise could have targetted and would have cost them less in the IPL auction.</p>
<h3>3. Phil Salt</h3>
<figure class="image" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1731596004049_Phil-Salt.jpeg" alt="Phil Salt" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
<figcaption data-lt-tmp-id="lt-836233" data-gramm="false">Phil Salt. (Source - Getty Images)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Royal Challengers Bengaluru signed <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/philip-salt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Phil Salt</a></strong> for INR 11.50 crore. The England international had a stunning season for KKR in the last edition, scoring 435 runs in 12 matches at a strike rate of 182. He was one of the big reasons behind KKR’s success in the last edition of the cash-rich league. The franchise was expected to retain him but they decided against it.</p>
<p>Later, they were expected to show interest in getting Salt in the auction, which KKR did, but lost the bidding war to Bengaluru. Instead of Venkatesh, the franchise could have shown interest in Salt, who proved his value at the top of the order and his opening partnership with Sunil Narine was extremely vital as the duo had five 50+ and one 100+ partnership stand in the last edition.</p>
<p>Venkatesh was valuable in the middle order but players such as Rinku Singh and Andre Russell can bat at four and five respectively. So, KKR could have gone for an opener, which looks slightly fragile as consistency can be an issue for Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz. On top of that, Narine barely played a good knock since the IPL 2024 ended.</p>
<h3>2. Ishan Kishan</h3>
<figure class="image" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1730205714122_Ishan-Kishan.jpeg" alt="Ishan Kishan" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
<figcaption data-lt-tmp-id="lt-188403" data-gramm="false">Ishan Kishan. (Source - Getty Images)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/ishan-kishan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ishan Kishan</a></strong> could have been another great option at a cheaper price. He could have been the Indian keeper-batter KKR could have targeted, and that would have solved the top order woes as well. Sunrisers Hyderabad signed Kishan for INR 11.25 crore, which is much cheaper than Venkatesh Iyer was sold for.</p>
<p>Kishan is an explosive top-order batter and is brilliant behind the stumps. Had they invested in the Bihar-born cricketer, KKR could have played another foreigner, preferably an all-rounder in the middle order. However, as they spent heavily on Venkatesh, they didn’t have the luxury to spend on other quality talents.</p>
<h3>1. Marco Jansen</h3>
<figure class="image" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1725885348731_Marco-Jansen-and-Gerald-Coetzee.jpeg" alt="Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee." width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
<figcaption data-lt-tmp-id="lt-35124" data-gramm="false">South Africa's Marco Jansen. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Young <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/marco-jansen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marco Jansen</a></strong> is in spectacular form and could have been the long-term replacement of Andre Russell in the future. Punjab Kings bought him for INR 7 crore and that was a steal, given the form the South Africa international is in. In the recently concluded T20 World Cup, the 24-year-old wreaked havoc, scoring a quick half-century and also proving economical throughout the series.</p>
<p>Rinku could have shifted to four, Russell to five and Jansen would have fit at number six and then Ramandeep at seven. He could have given four overs with the ball, which Venkatesh can’t. On top of that, Jansen is a terrific fielder. KKR also could have saved plenty of money and could have signed both Kishan and Jansen and would still have INR 5.50 crore left. However, the management preferred continuity and for the same reason, Venkatesh was picked ahead of the other option.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">Kolkata Knight Riders spent INR 23.75 crore to acquire the services of Venkatesh Iyer in the IPL 2024 mega-auction. They invested almost half their money in the Indian all-rounder and that might have slightly affected their auction plans as the three-time champions lost a few key bidding wars in the latter part of the auction. Notably, KKR were the first team to bid for the cricketer and later, Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru joined, but the franchise didn’t give up.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Was it a wise decision to sign Iyer for INR 23.75 crore? That will be known when the season kicks off in March 2025. However, there are other quality players that KKR could have invested in rather than Venkatesh. Here are three possible names that the franchise could have targetted and would have cost them less in the IPL auction.</p>
<h3>3. Phil Salt</h3>
<figure class="image"><img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1731596004049_Phil-Salt.jpeg" alt="Phil Salt" loading="lazy"><lt-highlighter contenteditable="false" data-lt-linked="1" style="display: none;"><lt-div spellcheck="false" class="lt-highlighter__wrapper" style="width: 640px !important; height: 22.3843px !important; transform: none !important; transform-origin: 320px 11.1921px !important; zoom: 1 !important; margin-top: 410.081px !important;"><lt-div class="lt-highlighter__scroll-element" style="top: 0px !important; left: 0px !important; width: 640px !important; height: 22px !important;"></lt-div></lt-div></lt-highlighter>
<figcaption data-lt-tmp-id="lt-836233" spellcheck="false" data-gramm="false">Phil Salt. (Source - Getty Images)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Royal Challengers Bengaluru signed <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/philip-salt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Phil Salt</a></strong> for INR 11.50 crore. The England international had a stunning season for KKR in the last edition, scoring 435 runs in 12 matches at a strike rate of 182. He was one of the big reasons behind KKR’s success in the last edition of the cash-rich league. The franchise was expected to retain him but they decided against it.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Later, they were expected to show interest in getting Salt in the auction, which KKR did, but lost the bidding war to Bengaluru. Instead of Venkatesh, the franchise could have shown interest in Salt, who proved his value at the top of the order and his opening partnership with Sunil Narine was extremely vital as the duo had five 50+ and one 100+ partnership stand in the last edition.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Venkatesh was valuable in the middle order but players such as Rinku Singh and Andre Russell can bat at four and five respectively. So, KKR could have gone for an opener, which looks slightly fragile as consistency can be an issue for Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz. On top of that, Narine barely played a good knock since the IPL 2024 ended.</p>
<h3>2. Ishan Kishan</h3>
<figure class="image"><img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1730205714122_Ishan-Kishan.jpeg" alt="Ishan Kishan" loading="lazy"><canvas class="lt-highlighter__canvas" width="94" height="20" style="display: none; top: 1px !important; left: 183px !important;"></canvas>
<figcaption data-lt-tmp-id="lt-188403" spellcheck="false" data-gramm="false">Ishan Kishan. (Source - Getty Images)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/ishan-kishan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ishan Kishan</a></strong> could have been another great option at a cheaper price. He could have been the Indian keeper-batter KKR could have targeted, and that would have solved the top order woes as well. Sunrisers Hyderabad signed Kishan for INR 11.25 crore, which is much cheaper than Venkatesh Iyer was sold for.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Kishan is an explosive top-order batter and is brilliant behind the stumps. Had they invested in the Bihar-born cricketer, KKR could have played another foreigner, preferably an all-rounder in the middle order. However, as they spent heavily on Venkatesh, they didn’t have the luxury to spend on other quality talents.</p>
<h3>1. Marco Jansen</h3>
<figure class="image"><img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1725885348731_Marco-Jansen-and-Gerald-Coetzee.jpeg" alt="Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee." loading="lazy"><lt-highlighter contenteditable="false" data-lt-linked="1" style="display: none;"><lt-div spellcheck="false" class="lt-highlighter__wrapper" style="width: 640px !important; height: 22.3843px !important; transform: none !important; transform-origin: 320px 11.1921px !important; zoom: 1 !important; margin-top: 410.081px !important;"><lt-div class="lt-highlighter__scroll-element" style="top: 0px !important; left: 0px !important; width: 640px !important; height: 22px !important;"></lt-div></lt-div></lt-highlighter>
<figcaption data-lt-tmp-id="lt-35124" spellcheck="false" data-gramm="false">South Africa's Marco Jansen. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Young <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/marco-jansen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marco Jansen</a></strong> is in spectacular form and could have been the long-term replacement of Andre Russell in the future. Punjab Kings bought him for INR 7 crore and that was a steal, given the form the South Africa international is in. In the recently concluded T20 World Cup, the 24-year-old wreaked havoc, scoring a quick half-century and also proving economical throughout the series.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Rinku could have shifted to four, Russell to five and Jansen would have fit at number six and then Ramandeep at seven. He could have given four overs with the ball, which Venkatesh can’t. On top of that, Jansen is a terrific fielder. KKR also could have saved plenty of money and could have signed both Kishan and Jansen and would still have INR 5.50 crore left. However, the management preferred continuity and for the same reason, Venkatesh was picked ahead of the other option.</p>

Kolkata Knight Riders spent INR 23.75 crore to acquire the services of Venkatesh Iyer in the IPL 2024 mega-auction. They invested almost half their money in the Indian all-rounder and that might have

3 Players KKR should have gone for instead of Venkatesh Iyer

Venkatesh Iyer scored 370 runs in 15 matches in IPL 2024 for the Knight Riders.

IPL 2025: 3 Players KKR should have gone for instead of Venkatesh Iyer at Mega Auction

Venkatesh Iyer alternatives in KKR squad: Check out three player options that could have been selected in the IPL 2025 auction instead of Venkatesh Iyer for their squad, only on CricTracker.com.