India’s spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was not retained by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for IPL 2022. However, the former India spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan feels that the spinner would be the target of all franchises in the mega auction. Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and Mohammed Siraj were RCB’s retentions.
Chahal has been one of the best spinners in the cash-rich league. After his ordinary outing in the first leg of the tournament, he made a phenomenal comeback in the second half of the tournament in the UAE.
“RCB would want to buy him back. The other teams would want Chahal on 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.
I remember how RCB was raising the paddle seeing CSK going hard for Ashwin. If RCB wants Chahal, the other teams might just bid to ensure he costs more. So, in the end, Chahal might end up being benefitted,” Sivaramakrishnan told NDTV.
Sivaramakrishnan added that the main focus of the players is to play for the national team.
“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, and the players who have not been retained also have the opportunity,” the former cricketer added.