'They didn't ask me whether I wanted to be retained' - Yuzvendra Chahal on RCB releasing him ahead of IPL 2022 mega auction

India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal will be featuring for the Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for eight seasons before the franchise released him ahead of the mega auction. RCB retained Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj but released Chahal.

Speaking of the same, the leg-spinner stated that he wasn’t even asked about retention and hence, the monetary discussions didn’t even take place. RCB’s director of cricket Mike Hesson called him and told about the three players that were going to be retained. He also added that he never thought of playing for any other team apart from RCB.

“I am emotionally attached to RCB. I never thought I would play for some other team. People and fans on social media are still asking me ‘why did you ask for this much money?’. The reality is that Mike Hesson (RCB Director of Cricket) called me and said ‘Listen Yuzi, there are three retentions’ (Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj).

“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’. 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 while speaking to Times of India.

New journey for me, I am excited, says Chahal

Rajasthan Royals managed to secure Yuzvendra Chahal‘s services at the mega auction for an amount of INR 6.5 crore while RCB didn’t even bid for him. The 31-year-old, however, is excited to play for the Royals and insists that nothing will change in terms of his performance and celebrations.

“The jersey will be different, but the Yuzi will be the same. You will see the same kind of wicket-taking performances and celebrations from me. It’s a new journey for me and I am very excited about it. Everything will be the same, only the jersey will change. The way I bowled and performed for RCB, I will do the same for RR as well. Nothing is going to change. RR showed faith in me at the auction,” the leg-spinner added.