Ahead of the IPL 2022 auction, Royal Challengers Bangalore decided to retain just three players out of four which were permitted as per the guidelines. RCB chose to go with Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj but it was surprising they didn’t retain legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal who has been associated with the franchise for a long time now and been one of their consistent performers too.
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Putting to bed the speculations surrounding his exit from RCB, Chahal has revealed he was informed in advance by the Mike Hesson, the director of cricket for the franchise, that they are going ahead with only three retentions.
“The reality is that Mike Hesson called me and said ‘Listen Yuzi, there are three retentions.’ 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.
He continued, “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 said he was never asked about his intention to be retained and that he would have stayed with them if the offer was made.
“The thing is they never asked me. They just called me and told me about the three retentions. If they had asked me whether I wanted to be retained, I would have said yes. Because money is secondary to me. RCB have given me so much, they gave me the platform, they gave me so much love and support, the fans gave me a lot of affection. Yes, I am attached to RCB emotionally,” Chahal said.
Chahal was bought by Rajasthan Royals, a franchise he was part of previously but didn’t break into their playing XI. He will team up with senior India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin at IPL 2022.
“I am very excited. In 2010, I was with Rajasthan Royals. I was in the squad but didn’t make it to the main team (playing eleven). After a long time, say more than 10 years, I am back where I started. I am so happy and excited to be part of the team once again. It’s my first (IPL) family you can say as I started my IPL journey from here. I am excited to share the ball with Ashwin bhaiya,” he said.
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