India’s star spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was not retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the upcoming seasons. Chahal, who is hailed as one of the best T20I spinners around the world, has been one of the most pivotal cogs of RCB.
Chahal, who had been a part of the franchise since 2014, has been one of RCB’s top performers with the ball in the last eight seasons, however, he was released by the franchise ahead of the upcoming mega-auctions. RCB had announced the names of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and Mohammed Siraj as their retentions.
Though the cricketer had an ordinary outing in the first half of the IPL 2021 and was later on dropped from the side for the T20 World Cup 2021, but he made a stronger comeback in the UAE leg of the IPL 2021.
Former India cricketer Laxman Sivaramakrishnan feels that the spinner will go for big bucks in the mega-auctions. He stated that RCB will want to buy back their star spinner in the auction. He said:
“RCB would want to buy him back. The other teams would want Chahal in their side because of his exceptional record in the IPL. The people who have more money will have the luxury of going for Chahal. In the end, Chahal might end up getting more money for being in the auction than by being retained,”
He also recalled the bidding battle that took place between RCB and CSK for R Ashwin in the past and claimed that the same might happen for Yuzvendra Chahal in the upcoming event as many teams will aim to get him. He said:
“I remember how RCB was raising the paddle seeing CSK going hard for Ashwin. If RCB want Chahal then the other teams might just bid to ensure he costs more to them. So, in the end, Chahal might end up being benefitted,”
This time 19 Indian players were retained by the teams and only eight overseas players were retained by the teams, unlike past retentions. Talking about the same, Sivaramakrishnan said it was a good sign for Indian cricket. He said:
“The overseas players not being retained are a sign that the Indian players are good enough. And the Indian players is what we really need to look at. The foreign players might make a fortune but the Indian players will form the core,”
When asked about whether the likes of David Warner, Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer will be dejected for not being retained by their respective franchises, Sivaramakrishnan said:
“Playing for the country is first and foremost. Your ambition as a young cricketer is not to play in IPL but to play for the country. There was no IPL when Ben Stokes or Steve Smith started to play. So, their aim would always have been to play for England and Australia.”
“There are two ways to look at IPL retention. Firstly, the players who have already been retained will feel a sense of security. The players who have not been retained also have opportunity,”
