Mike Hesson on RCB’s Chahal Decision
Mike Hesson, former RCB cricket director, discussed why Yuzvendra Chahal wasn’t retained at the IPL 2022 auction. Chahal, who reached 200 IPL wickets, left RCB after Hesson’s tenure from 2019 to 2023. Hesson said on Jio Cinema that he did not keep Chahal because keeping just three players allowed the team to invest an additional four crore rupees, which they intended to use to purchase both Chahal and bowler Harshal Patel.
But Yuzvendra’s name appeared quite late in the auction. To strengthen their attack, they were also considering Wanindu Hasaranga, a spin all-rounder from Sri Lanka. The RCB pursued Hasaranga when his name surfaced earlier in the auction, missing out on Chahal, whose name appeared considerably later.
I will continue to be frustrated with Yuzi (Chahal) long after my career is over, if not longer. He bowls quite well. I suppose you have to make a decision about who to keep at the end of each cycle. It was one of those situations where you gain an extra 4 crore in the auction if you just keep three players. That might have allowed us to acquire both Yuzi and Harshal (Patel),” Hesson said to former Indian batter Robin Uthappa on Jio Cinema.
Chahal IPL Journey
When the auction order was announced, Yuzvendra Chahal was listed at number 65. We were going to be teased because we had kept so many guys. There was no other spinner we were interested in after Yuzi. Clearly, we were considering Hasaranga as a backup plan in case Yuzi wasn’t available. We therefore made an upfront proposal for him, and once we got Hasaranga hot, we were unable to pursue Yuzi,” he continued.
With the top figures of 5/40, Chahal has claimed 200 wickets at an average of 21.60 in 153 outings. Throughout his IPL career, he has claimed six four-wicket totals and one five-wicket total.
During the Sawai Man Singh Stadium IPL encounter against the Mumbai Indians (MI), the seasoned Indian spinner achieved this milestone.
It was in the eighth over of the match that Chahal experienced this amazing event in his cricket career. Chahal reached his double century of wickets when he caught and bowled Mohammed Nabi, an all-rounder for MI and Afghanistan, for 23 runs.
Rajasthan Royals vs. Mumbai Indians
Before joining the Rajasthan Royals in 2022, Chahal played for the Mumbai Indians (2011–13) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) (2014–21). He took 139 wickets for RCB in 113 matches, but in the one game he played, he had no wickets for MI. RR has already claimed 61 wickets in 39 games.
When the game started, the Mumbai Indians chose to bat first after winning the toss. MI was 20/3 for a while. Next up was Tilak, who scored 99 runs with Nehal Wadhera (49 in 24 balls, three fours, and a six) and shared 32 runs with Mohammed Nabi (23 in 17 balls, two fours, and a six). MI was able to reach 179/9 in their 20 overs.
The leading spinner for Rajasthan, Sandeep Sharma (5/18), produced an impressive five-wicket haul. Trent Boult finished his four overs with 2/32 as well. Avesh Khan secured a single wicket. Yuzvendra Chahal, a spinner, took a wicket as well, making history as the first player to reach 200 IPL wickets.
Jaiswal scored 104* in 60 balls during the run-chase, his second IPL century, with nine fours and seven sixes. RR won by nine wickets thanks to knocks by Jos Buttler (35 in 25 balls, six fours) and captain Sanju (38 in 28 balls, two fours and two sixes).
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The ‘Player of the Match’ trophy went to Jaiswal.
With seven victories and one defeat, or 14 points, RR leads the points table. With three wins, five defeats, and six points, MI is ranked sixth.