Former RCB coach, Mike Hesson, revealed how the team’s decision not to retain Yuzvendra Chahal for the IPL 2022 auctions in order to maximize their purse backfired, leaving the franchise regretful.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru are ruing the day they let go of Yuzvendra Chahal, now a star for Rajasthan Royals. Chahal made IPL history by claiming 200 wickets. Former RCB coach Mike Hesson explained how they released him before the 2022 mega-auctions, where retaining just three players would’ve added extra funds.
“He’s (Chahal) an outstanding bowler and I guess when you come to every cycle you have to decide who are you going to retain. It’s one of those things where if you only retain three players, then that’s an extra four crores in the auction,” Hesson said to JioCinema.
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In the 2022 auctions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru had their sights set on retaining both Harshal Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal. However, their plans were thrown off when the auction order placed Chahal at number 65, leaving them vulnerable to being outbid due to their retained players.
The late appearance of Chahal’s name forced RCB into a dilemma: risk going without a spinner early in the auction or wait until the end and hope for the best. Opting for caution, they secured Wanindu Hasaranga for Rs 10.75 crores. Hesson explained that after missing Chahal, they had no other spinner targets and were interested in Hasaranga as a backup.
“But then the order of the auction came up and Yuzuvendra Chahal was at number 65. Because we retained that many players, we were going to get bullied. So after Yuzi, there were no other spinners we were interested in. We were interested in Hasaranga, as another option if we did not get Yuzi. So we bid for him upfront but that meant we could not go in for Chahal,” he added.
Rajasthan Royals seized the opportunity and successfully bid Rs 6.5 crores for Chahal, leaving RCB to rue their missed chance.
Last Updated on April 23, 2024
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