New Delhi: Experienced leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal finally broke his silence over his shocking exit from the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The franchise first did not retain Chahal ahead of the IPL auction and then didn't even place the opening bid for him which came as a surprise for fans as the spinner had represented RCB for eight seasons. The 31-year-old's association with RCB started in 2014 and ended this year after Rajasthan Royals (RR) acquired him for Rs 6.50 crore.
In an exclusive interview with TimesofIndia (TOI), RCB's most successful bowler Yuzvendra Chahal revealed he was not asked by the franchise whether he wanted to be retained or not and there was no conversation between him and the franchise about money.
“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 told TOI.
However, Chahal also mentioned that after being ignored by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL auction and bought by Rajasthan Royals, Virat congratulated him and said "Royal To Hai Hi Tu" (you are still a royal).