Former India player Aakash Chopra has pointed out that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) IPL 2026 auction items have the stamp of Rajat Patidar on them. He pointed out that the defending IPL champions have already brought in two Madhya Pradesh players, including Venkatesh Iyer, who has been in poor form of late.

RCB spent Rs 1,615 crore to purchase 8 players in the IPL 2026 auction held in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, December 16. Venkatesh (Rs 7 Crore) and Mangesh Yadav (Rs 520 Crore) were the two most expensive players selected by them in the mini-auction.

In a video ‘Aakash Chopra’ shared on his YouTube channel, the former India opener highlighted RCB’s commitment to VenkateshPointing out that the team led by Patidar managed to acquire the Madhya Pradesh all-rounder this time over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and also bought Mangesh as a potential replacement for Yash Dayal.

“RCB didn’t need to buy much and didn’t buy much. They liked Venkatesh Iyer a lot. Last time RCB and KKR were in contention for Venkatesh Iyer as well. This time they were also in contention and this time RCB won the match for Rs 7 crore,” Chopra said. (6:30)

“They bought Mangesh Yadav, a left-arm pacer and I realize slight imprint of Rajat Patidar can be seen. They took away two MP players. One of them didn’t have the current form at all but they said they wanted him and they liked Venky Iyer and the second one, they said they needed a left-arm player as they were not sure about Yash Dayal),” he added.

Aakash Chopra aka Jacob Duffy RCBGreat value buy in IPL 2026 auction. He sees the team’s acquisition of two current under-19 Indian cricketers, Vihaan Malhotra and Kanishk Chouhan, as a good development.

It looks like Ricky Ponting is there even though he’s not there” – Aakash Chopra on Kings XI Punjab acquisition in IPL 2026 auction

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that Ricky Ponting appears to be in IPL 2026 AuctionConsidering that Punjab Kings (PBKS) have purchased two more Australian players.

“I thought Cooper Connolly was an amazing acquisition and then they bought Ben Devasius. It looked like Ricky Ponting was there even though he wasn’t there. I think they had a quota to keep five Australian players so they kept all five,” he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator, while observing that Marco Jansen is an anomaly in the PBKS line-up, added that the team failed to acquire Rahul Chahar as a potential replacement for Yuzvendra Chahal.

“Marco Jansen spoiled their balance a bit but overall they had enough Australian players. I thought they would get one more spinner. They chased Rahul Chahal but in the end they didn’t buy him,” Chopra observed.

Chennai Super Kings(CSK) outbid punjab kings Rahul Chahar was acquired for Rs 520 crore in the IPL 2026 auction. PBKS purchased two leg-spinners of Pravin Dubey and Vishal Nishad for Rs 30 lakh each.