IPL 2022: I am ready to go to any team – Yuzvendra Chahal ahead of mega auction

Experienced leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has revealed that he is ready to go to any team in the upcoming mega auction of the IPL 2022. Chahal had spent eight years with Royal Challengers Bangalore and did a fine job for the franchise. However, the leg-spinner from Haryana is not sure whether he will be bought back by RCB in the auction.

Back in 2018, Royal Challengers Bangalore had retained Yuzvendra Chahal through ‘Right to Match’ card. Meanwhile, Chahal has been a consistent performer as he has scalped 139 wickets in 114 matches at an average of 22.28 and an economy rate of 7.59. Out of the 114 matches he has played in the IPL, 113 have come for RCB while he made his debut for Mumbai Indians but played a solitary match for them.

However, RCB didn’t retain Yuzvendra Chahal and they have retained their former skipper Virat Kohli, all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and fast bowler Mohammed Siraj.

Yuzvendra Chahal said while talking to Ravichandran Ashwin on DRS with Ash, “It’s the first time where I feel I can go anywhere because there’s no Right to Match (RTM) card. The last time (2018), RTM was available and they (RCB) had told me clearly that they’ll buy me using RTM in the auction no matter what… But this time, seriously, as a professional player, I am ready to go to any team.”

The 31-year-old added: Obviously, I want to go to RCB because I’ve been there for 8 years but it’s not like if I go somewhere else I’ll feel bad because everyone has to make a new team and it’s a major auction where there’s always purse constraints. Whichever team takes me, I’ll keep giving my 100%. It will take some time to adjust to a new franchise but that’s why we call ourselves professional players.”

Chahal joked that he wouldn’t want INR 15 or 17 crores as INR 8 crores will be good enough for him.

“I don’t want to say that I want 15 cr or 17 cr, you know, 8 cr is enough for me! (smiles)”.

Meanwhile, both Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin have set their base price at INR 2 crores for the upcoming auction.

Chahal was satiated with his bowling on the tour of South Africa though he could only take two wickets in three ODIs. The leg-spinner added that he was not able to create much impact as the Proteas didn’t had any scoreboard pressure.

“In this series they didn’t try anything. They never felt enough pressure to score quickly at a run rate of 6-7. The scenario would have been completely different if we had got 2-3 wickets in the first 10 overs before we (the spinners) came to bowl. Then obviously they would have gone for the big shots and we would have had a bigger margin for getting wickets. I was happy with my bowling in South Africa because my theory is if you are bowling badly as a legspinner, either you will get hit for cuts or pulls which didn’t happen… Still, it was a learning for me on how to adjust my fields when someone plays like this.”

India will now take on West Indies in three-match ODI series.