The decision of Royal Challengers Bangalore to not retain leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal after the 2021 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was widely regarded as unusual by the Indian cricketing community. Chahal had performed exceptionally well for the franchise throughout the years, and his departure left him feeling disappointed. In an interview, Chahal expressed his sadness about being released after a long association of eight years. However, what hurt him the most was the lack of communication from the franchise as they did not even bother to call him and explain the reasoning behind their decision.
“I definitely felt very bad. It was in 2014 that my journey started. From the first match, Virat Kohli showed trust in me. But, it feels bad (on the decision) as I was playing for the franchise for 8 years. I saw people saying ‘Yuzi would’ve asked for a lot of money’ and such stuff. That is why I clarified in an interview that I did not ask for anything. I know how much I deserve. The worst thing is I didn’t get a single phone call from RCB. They didn’t even tell me anything,” Chahal said in an interview with Ranveer Allahbadia.
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Despite RCB promising to aggressively pursue Yuzvendra Chahal in the auction, they surprisingly did not make a single bid for him. In a bidding war involving the Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, and Rajasthan Royals, it was eventually the team led by Sanju Samson that acquired Chahal for INR 6.50 crore. This turn of events left Chahal feeling disappointed, considering the assurance he had received from RCB prior to the auction.
“I played around 140 matches for RCB, but I received no proper communication from them. They promised me that they’ll go all out for me. I was alright. I got very angry after that (seeing RCB let him go), I played for them for 8 years. Chinnaswamy Stadium is my favourite,” he said.
Although Yuzvendra Chahal was initially disappointed by RCB’s decision, he now sees it as a positive turn of events. Chahal believes that joining Rajasthan Royals has actually helped him evolve and improve as a cricketer.
“Whatever happens, happens for good. A good thing that happened with me after I joined Rajasthan Royals is I became a death bowler. I started to bowl at the death. At RCB I used to bowl the 16th or the 17th over at max. At RR, I became a death bowler and my cricketing growth increased by 5 to 10 percent. That is when I realised, whatever happens, happens for good. People go to new teams after sometimes playing for 10 years for a particular side. That is fine. As a professional cricketer, you have to deal with such things. The attachment with RCB is there but coming to RR has helped my cricket a lot,” he explained.
Watch the full interview here:
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