Venkatesh Iyer And? 3 Players RCB Could Target In Trade Deals Ahead Of IPL 2026

Anurag Dasgupta

Trade deals for RCB ahead of next season [Source: @IPLT20.COM]Trade deals for RCB ahead of next season [Source: @IPLT20.COM]

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 recently got over but the franchises have already started to prepare for the next season. Ahead of the next season, the IPL will conduct a mini-auction where the teams could release a few players and sign star cricketers to plug in the loopholes. The champions of IPL 2025 season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will also be in market to buy stars.

The team had an exceptional campaign as they went undefeated away from home and won the finale by beating the Punjab Kings in a riveting battle. Their current team looks strong to defend the IPL crown but the franchise will be eager to offload certain players in order to make their squad stronger.

The team could also use the trade-moves to offload the players and buy a like-to-like replacement.

Players RCB would like to trade ahead of mini auction

Players
Role
Liam LivingstoneAll-Rounder
Swastik Chikara
Batter
Lungi NgidiBowler

Liam Livingstone  ➜ Venkatesh Iyer

RCB purchased the English all-rounder, Liam Livingstone for a whopping INR 8.75 crore but barring a solitary fifty, he failed to deliver the goods as the all-rounder looked out of touch and only accumulated 112 runs in 10 matches, with a strike rate of 133.33. In case RCB decides to trade him, they could enter the talks with KKR's 23.75 crore all-rounder, Venkatesh Iyer.

In the mega auction last year, RCB went upto 20 crores for Venkatesh but they ultimately gave up. As per reports, KKR are likely to release Venkatesh and RCB could pounce on it to enter the trade talk with the franchise to swap Livingstone with Venkatesh.

Swastik Chikara  ➜ Ramandeep Singh

A batter with a lot of promise, it was expected that Swastik Chikara would get a game, especially when Devdutt Padikkal was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury. However, the franchise showed no trust in the batter and replaced Padikkal with Mayank Agarwal as the Karnataka batter was preferred over Chikara.

The batter was not included in any of the RCB matches and it seems his journey with the franchise is over. In case the franchise decides to trade him, they could talk with KKR batter, Ramandeep Singh.

The KKR star was exceptional in 2024 season but he flopped in 2025 as KKR would be eager to release him. If RCB get him, they will have a solid backup finisher in the team.

Lungi Ngidi  ➜ Shamar Joseph

With the likes of Josh Hazlewood occupying the overseas spot in the bowling department, Lungi Ngidi, the South African could only play two matches in the IPL 2025 season. In those 2 matches, he picked up 4 wickets but went at an economy of more than 10 runs per over. 

Instead of paying him INR 1 crore to sit on the bench, RCB could decide to trade him with LSG star, Shamar Joseph. The West Indian was bought with a lot of hope but he couldn't deliver it for the Lucknow based team. However, there is potential there and under Hazlewood's wings, the West Indian could learn the art of T20 bowling and could become a starter as well.