The Royal Challengers Bangalore and Yuzvendra Chahal parted ways after eight seasons when the franchise released the spinner ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction. The 31-year-old was picked by the Rajasthan Royals for Rs 6.5 crore and will be seen in action when the team takes on the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MCA Stadium, Pune on Tuesday.
Chahal, RCB’s most successful bowlers, picked 139 wickets in 113 games for the side at an average and economy rate of 22.03 and 7.58 rpo. He has played one game for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2013.
Now a Rajasthan Royals player, Chahal opened up on not being retained by the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The leg-spinner said that the 2016 runners-up promised him that they ‘will go for you in the auction’. However, there was not a single bid by RCB.
“They didn’t ask me whether I wanted to be retained or tell me if they wanted to retain me. They just talked about the three retentions and I was told that – ‘we will go for you in the auction’,” Chahal told the Times of India.
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Chahal, India’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is, further added that he was not given an offer.
“Neither was I asked about money nor did I get any offer of retention. But I will always be loyal to my Bangalore fans. I love them so much, no matter what,” Chahal added.
Royal Challengers Bangalore retained Virat Kohli (Rs 15 crore), Glenn Maxwell (Rs 11 crore) and Mohammed Siraj (Rs 7 crore). In the auction, they splashed Rs 7 crore for skipper Faf du Plessis, Rs 10.75 crore for pacer Harshal Patel and Rs 7.75 crore for Australian bowler Josh Hazlewood.
Chahal, however, said that he will continue to have a close bond with RCB, especially the fans.
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“I have a close bond with RCB, especially with the fans. I got to play a lot of matches with the team. I am emotionally attached to RCB. I never thought I would play for some other team. People and fans on social media are still asking me ‘why did you ask for this much money?’. The reality is that Mike Hesson (RCB Director of Cricket) called me and said ‘Listen Yuzi, there are three retentions’ (Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj),” he said.
