Former Indian captain Anil Kumble has backed Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Devdutt Padikkal to play ahead of Venkatesh Iyer in the upcoming IPL 2026. Venkatesh Iyer was roped in for INR 7 crore in IPL 2026 mini auction after he was released by Kolkata Knight Riders. Iyer could not deliver for KKR after he was roped in for a huge amount of INR 23.75 crore in IPL 2025 mega auction.

Meanwhile, Devdutt Padikkal scored 247 runs in 10 matches of the previous edition at an average of 27.40 and a strike rate of 150.60. Furthermore, Padikkal has been in rich form in the domestic circuit.

Anil Kumble said on Star Sports when he was asked about Venkatesh Iyer’s inclusion, “Not the starting XI. I don’t think he would be because you would still want the same starting XI. Devdutt Padikkal should play in the XI. He missed out on the last couple of important games for RCB because of injury. He is in outstanding form. So he will certainly take that role of that impact player, Devdutt batting and Suyash Sharma probably bowling.”

“That was how they had structured last season’s lineup. So in that lineup, unlikely, unless they look to go that extra batter sort of thing at the start of the season. Otherwise, I don’t see him in that starting lineup, but he is a wonderful guy to have in the squad because any moment you want to bring in an experienced batter, he is there for you. He is a left-hander. So he is a like-to-like for a Devdutt,” he added.

Kumble said it is not going to be easy for RCB to win back-to-back titles as the competition is always stiff in the IPL.

“It’s not going to be easy winning back-to-back titles. It’s not going to be that simple, but I think he has done well in the first season. When he was nominated the captain, all of us were a bit taken aback. Yes, he had the experience of captaining Madhya Pradesh, did well in domestic cricket, and was identified as the skipper for RCB,” he replied.

RCB will begin their IPL defense against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bengaluru on 28th March.