RCB will be stupid if they don't use their RTM for Chahal: Virender Sehwag

The curiosity and excitement levels of all the cricket fans and people associated with the game are running heavily as the big Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 auctions are coming near. IPL 2018 auctions are scheduled to start on January 27 and 28, where all the big players from the different countries will be going under the hammer to gain higher bids. Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag who is also a mentor with the IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab has stated that he feels that the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) would be choosing the Right to Match (RTM) option to retain their leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal in the upcoming auctions.

The Challengers surprised everyone with their three permissive retentions. The first one being the Indian captain Virat Kohli, second was the former South African skipper AB de Villiers and the third one was uncapped young Sarfraz Khan. All were very surprised with this decision but RCB will surely have their different strategies and combinations in their minds going into the big auctions. They have many huge names to chose from, which includes Yuzvendra Chahal, KL Rahul, Kedar Jadhav and Chris Gayle.

RCB will be stupid if they don’t use RTM for Chahal

Sehwag revealed that the value doesn’t come into account, but RCB will prove to be very stupid in case they don’t retain Chahal with the RTM card in the auctions. Though he still that they will be going in for the leg-spinner at any possible cost. Chahal is currently performing very well for the Indian team in the limited overs format and has also played a crucial hand for the his team in the IPL in the past year with many consistent performances.

“I don’t know at what price he (Chahal) will go but RCB will definitely use RTM for him. If they don’t, then they will be stupid,” said Sehwag in a conversation with Sportskeeda as quoted by the Deccan Chronicle.

Gayle is not the same player that he used to be

The former Indian opener also voiced his opinion that whether RCB would be thinking to retain the big West Indian batsman Chris Gayle in the auctions. He mentioned the fact that considering Gayle’s age and current form, he is certainly not the same player that he used to be  a few years ago. The Indian cricketer said that the Windies batsman did not have the best of his outings in the previous edition of the tournament, but also thinks that his franchise might go for him again during the upcoming auctions on January 27 and 28.

“Gayle is now getting old. He is not the same Gayle that he once was. Last year, he played in the IPL and his performance wasn’t at that level that he was once renowned for. Teams take into account this factor when they enter the auction. Maybe RCB might go after Gayle again at the auction,” added the former Indian opener.