Venkatesh Iyer and Cameron Green - (Source: ScreenGrab/X.com)
On Monday, December 29, the third round of the Vijay Hazare Trophy got underway with state associations locking horns against each other for the prestigious fifty-over domestic tournament. Besides the Indian management, IPL franchises are also keeping a keen eye on their new recruits.
Talking about new recruits, eyes are on RCB, who are the defending champions. The 2025 IPL winners roped in Venkatesh Iyer for 7 crores during the mini-auction. It was one of the most-talked-about moves as the southpaw had a disastrous IPL 2025 and yet managed to bag a handsome amount for the upcoming edition.
Venkatesh Iyer struggles in VHT, RCB panic for IPL 2026
The Challengers had set their hopes on Iyer, but the 31-year-old is yet to repay the faith shown in him. In the latest events, Iyer featured for MP in the Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Kerala. The MP captain had a horror show with the bat, scoring only 8 (16), which featured no boundaries.
Overall, it has been an underwhelming performance by the new RCB recruit as the left-handed batter has scored just 74 runs in three innings, averaging just 24.67.
Therefore, the defending champions are sweating hard as they mull playing Iyer at the No. 3 slot, replacing Devdutt Padikkal for IPL 2026. However, Iyer’s poor show has left them worried and without clarity with just three months left for IPL.
KKR panic for Cameron Green
Interestingly, RCB are not the only team panicking about their new players, but KKR are also sweating profusely over Cameron Green’s form. For the unversed, Green emerged as IPL 2026 mini-auction’s highest-paid player as the Knight Riders splurged 25.2 crores.
However, in the latest events, Cricket Australia have hinted that Cameron Green is likely to be dropped for the fifth and final Ashes Test as their star all-rounder is out of form.
Talking about Green’s heroics in Ashes 2025, the 26-year-old has scored just 112 runs in six innings, averaging 18.67. Even with the ball, he has just three wickets in seven innings.
