diff --git a/storage/rocksdb/ha_rocksdb.cc b/storage/rocksdb/ha_rocksdb.cc
index 9240d707cb96..247bf08e498a 100644
--- a/storage/rocksdb/ha_rocksdb.cc
+++ b/storage/rocksdb/ha_rocksdb.cc
@@ -4423,6 +4423,7 @@ void ha_rocksdb::load_auto_incr_value() {
     index_last() creates a snapshot. When a snapshot is created
     here, it has to be released as well. (GitHub issue#189)
   */
+  m_key_requested = true;  // we need to unpack the key to load the value
   Rdb_transaction *const tx = get_or_create_tx(table->in_use);
   const bool is_new_snapshot = !tx->has_snapshot();
 
@@ -4962,12 +4963,12 @@ int ha_rocksdb::convert_record_to_storage_format(
     Setup which fields will be unpacked when reading rows
 
   @detail
-    Two special cases when we still unpack all fields:
+    Three special cases when we still unpack all fields:
     - When this table is being updated (m_lock_rows==RDB_LOCK_WRITE).
     - When @@rocksdb_verify_row_debug_checksums is ON (In this mode, we need to
-  read all
-      fields to find whether there is a row checksum at the end. We could skip
-      the fields instead of decoding them, but currently we do decoding.)
+  read all fields to find whether there is a row checksum at the end. We could
+  skip the fields instead of decoding them, but currently we do decoding.)
+    - On index merge as bitmap is cleared during that operation
 
   @seealso
     ha_rocksdb::setup_field_converters()
@@ -4975,20 +4976,29 @@ int ha_rocksdb::convert_record_to_storage_format(
 */
 void ha_rocksdb::setup_read_decoders() {
   m_decoders_vect.clear();
+  m_key_requested = false;
 
   int last_useful = 0;
   int skip_size = 0;
 
   for (uint i = 0; i < table->s->fields; i++) {
+    // bitmap is cleared on index merge, but it still needs to decode columns
+    const bool field_requested =
+        m_lock_rows == RDB_LOCK_WRITE || m_verify_row_debug_checksums ||
+        bitmap_is_clear_all(table->read_set) ||
+        bitmap_is_set(table->read_set, table->field[i]->field_index);
+
     // We only need the decoder if the whole record is stored.
     if (m_encoder_arr[i].m_storage_type != Rdb_field_encoder::STORE_ALL) {
+      // the field potentially needs unpacking
+      if (field_requested) {
+        // the field is in the read set
+        m_key_requested = true;
+      }
       continue;
     }
 
-    // bitmap is cleared on index merge, but it still needs to decode columns
-    if (m_lock_rows == RDB_LOCK_WRITE || m_verify_row_debug_checksums ||
-        bitmap_is_clear_all(table->read_set) ||
-        bitmap_is_set(table->read_set, table->field[i]->field_index)) {
+    if (field_requested) {
       // We will need to decode this field
       m_decoders_vect.push_back({&m_encoder_arr[i], true, skip_size});
       last_useful = m_decoders_vect.size();
@@ -5229,9 +5239,13 @@ int ha_rocksdb::convert_record_from_storage_format(
                 Rdb_key_def::get_unpack_header_size(unpack_info[0]));
   }
 
-  int err = m_pk_descr->unpack_record(table, buf, &rowkey_slice,
-                                      unpack_info ? &unpack_slice : nullptr,
-                                      false /* verify_checksum */);
+  int err = HA_EXIT_SUCCESS;
+  if (m_key_requested) {
+    err = m_pk_descr->unpack_record(table, buf, &rowkey_slice,
+                                    unpack_info ? &unpack_slice : nullptr,
+                                    false /* verify_checksum */);
+  }
+
   if (err != HA_EXIT_SUCCESS) {
     return err;
   }
diff --git a/storage/rocksdb/ha_rocksdb.h b/storage/rocksdb/ha_rocksdb.h
index f04ee5752ad8..f1b2d1a001ae 100644
--- a/storage/rocksdb/ha_rocksdb.h
+++ b/storage/rocksdb/ha_rocksdb.h
@@ -681,6 +681,12 @@ class ha_rocksdb : public my_core::handler {
   */
   std::vector<READ_FIELD> m_decoders_vect;
 
+  /*
+    This tells if any field which is part of the key needs to be unpacked and
+    decoded.
+   */
+  bool m_key_requested = false;
+
   /* Setup field_decoders based on type of scan and table->read_set */
   void setup_read_decoders();