Veteran India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal admitted that he was very angry as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) did not buy him at the IPL 2022 mega auction after he was surprisingly released by the franchise. He also claimed that RCB promised him they would do their very best to bring him back to the franchise as well, but nothing happened during the mega auction. Notably, Chahal is the leading wicket-taker for RCB in the IPL. He played for the franchise from 2014 to 2022, picking up 139 scalps in 113 matches at an average of 22.03.
In an interview on Ranveer Allahbadia’s YouTube channel, Chahal revealed: “When I put my name up for the auction, they promised me that they will go all out for me. I said okay, but then I was very angry [He was not picked by RCB]. I think I did not speak to the coaches for 2-3 days. Even when I played my first match for RR against RCB, I did not speak to anyone.”
When asked about his initial reaction after being not retained by RCB despite his stunning show with the ball, the 32-year-old said that he felt very bad because he was emotionally attached to RCB.
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“Definitely, I felt very bad. My main journey started [from there] in 2014. I also felt very weird because I played for the franchise for eight years. I would also say that I got the India cap because of my performances for RCB because they gave me a chance to perform. From the very first match, Virat [Kohli] bhai showed trust in me. It feels bad because I had been there for eight years,” Chahal further added.
He also added that what hurt him, even more, were rumours that he was not retained because he had asked for more money as well.
He clarified: “I heard things like, ‘Yuzi ne bahut paise maang liye honge’ [Yuzi must have asked for a lot of money]. Lot of such stuff was coming out. That’s why I clarified in an interview that I had not asked for any specific amount. I know what I deserve. The worst thing, which I felt very bad about, was that I did not receive any phone call. No one even spoke to me. I think I played around 114 [113] games for them. I couldn’t understand what happened suddenly.”
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However, after being released by RCB, he was picked up by Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the mega auction as well. While he was initially upset with RCB, he added that the move to RR has helped his game as a cricketer.
“Anything can happen in the auction, and then I realized that it’s okay, whatever happens, happens for good. The one plus point is that after coming to Rajasthan, I became a death bowler. At RCB, my overs were finished by the 16th or 17th over. Here, my cricket growth has improved 5-10 percent. That attachment is definitely there for RCB, but coming to Rajasthan has helped my cricket a lot,” Yuzvendra Chahal concluded.
