"He is a player who does not even have a central contract" - Aakash Chopra lauds Indian bowler's spell in PBKS' IPL 2025 win vs CSK

Former India player Aakash Chopra has lauded Yuzvendra Chahal for bowling a potent penultimate over in the Punjab Kings' (PBKS) IPL 2025 clash against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He pointed out that the wily leg-spinner is not part of the Indian team currently and does not even have a central contract.

Chahal registered figures of 4/32 in three overs as PBKS bowled CSK out for 190 in Match 49 of IPL 2025 in Chennai on Wednesday, April 30. The visitors achieved the target with four wickets and two deliveries to spare to knock the home team out of playoff contention.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener noted that Chahal proved PBKS were right in spending ₹18 crore on him at the IPL 2025 auction, even though the leg-spinner no longer seems to be in the Indian team's scheme of things.

"Chatur, chalaak, chanchal Chahal. It's generally said that a leg-spinner is a captain's bowler. Yuzi Chahal bagged his second hat-trick, which is phenomenal, but he might not have bowled that over because he still did not bowl four overs. He bowled only three overs. That 19th over was his third over. So how could he have bowled his fourth over?" Chopra said (1:50).

"When he came to bowl, an extra fielder was inside the circle. However, Chahal showed that you need to show a little courage by bowling slow on a big ground. He doesn't get a place in the Indian team. He is a player who does not even have a central contract. However, Punjab played a punt and he is proving it right. No one has taken four wickets in an over more times than him in IPL history," he added.

Yuzvendra Chahal went wicketless and conceded 23 runs in his first two overs in PBKS' IPL 2025 away game against CSK. However, he picked up four wickets, including a hat-trick, in his third over to ensure that MS Dhoni and company were restricted to a below-par total.

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"It's guaranteed that there won't be any pressure on the guy at the other end" - Aakash Chopra lauds Shreyas Iyer's knock in PBKS' IPL 2025 win vs CSK

Shreyas Iyer scored a blazing half-century in PBKS' IPL 2025 clash against CSK. [P/C: Getty]

Reflecting on the Punjab Kings' chase, Aakash Chopra praised Shreyas Iyer (72 off 41) for playing a match-defining knock after Priyansh Arya (23 off 15) and Prabhsimran Singh (54 off 36) had laid the platform.

"Priyansh Arya played extremely well till the time he played. Prabhsimran Singh played slightly slow at the start, but he also accelerated and scored a fifty. Then came Shreyas Iyer. When he is playing and scores runs, it's guaranteed that there won't be any pressure on the guy at the other end," he said (6:35) in the same video.

The cricketer-turned-commentator noted that the PBKS skipper ensured the required run rate was kept in check and virtually sealed the game for his side with his assault on Matheesha Pathirana.

"He takes the onus on himself to score runs quickly. He doesn't leave it on the guy at the other end. Since they were chasing here, it didn't seem even once that the asking rate was going too far. The straight sixes he hit against Pathirana was game, set and match," Chopra observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra highlighted that Shreyas Iyer, unlike Venkatesh Iyer and Rishabh Pant, hasn't succumbed to price-tag pressure. He added that the former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain has been worth every penny the Punjab Kings have spent on him.