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Rajasthan Royals (RR) leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal admitted that he was extremely angry as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) did not go all-out to buy him at the IPL 2022 mega auction after he was surprisingly released by the franchise. He claimed that RCB promised him they would do their very best to bring him back to the franchise, but nothing of that sort happened during the mega auction.
Chahal is the leading wicket-taker for RCB in the IPL. He represented the franchise from 2014 to 2022, claiming 139 scalps in 113 matches at an average of 22.03. It was almost a given that he would be retained by the Bangalore franchise ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, but RCB stunned everyone by releasing him.
In an interview on Ranveer Allahbadia’s YouTube channel, Chahal opened up on why he was very angry with the RCB franchise.
“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,” he said.
Asked about his initial reaction after being not retained by the franchise despite his stellar bowling performances, the 32-year-old admitted that he felt very bad because he was emotionally attached to RCB.
“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 added.
Chahal added that what hurt him even further were rumors that he was not retained because he had asked for more money.
Rubbishing such claims, 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.”
After being released by RCB, Chahal was picked up by Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the mega auction.
“Whatever happens, happens for good” - Chahal on playing for RR
While Chahal was initially upset with RCB, in hindsight he reckons that the move to RR has only done good to 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,” he opined.
Chahal had an impressive IPL 2023, claiming 21 wickets in 14 games at an average of 20.57.
