Former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Director of Cricket, Mike Hesson, has revealed the reason behind the franchise's decision to release Indian Premier League (IPL) legend Yuzvendra Chahal ahead of IPL mega auction, last year. Preceding the auction, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) opted to retain three players: Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and Mohammed Siraj.
During the IPL auction, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) enlisted Yuzvendra Chahal and Harshal Patel in the auction pool. While Harshal was reacquired by the franchise for Rs 10.75 crore, RCB surprisingly refrained from bidding for Yuzvendra Chahal. Ultimately, Chahal found a new team when he was bought by Rajasthan Royals during the auction.
The decision by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to release Yuzvendra Chahal indeed came as a big surprise to fans.
Mike Hesson, who held the position of RCB's Director of Cricket during this period, revealed that after the auction was over, he personally contacted Chahal to explain to him the reasons behind his release. Hesson further mentioned that Chahal appeared upset and displayed disinterest during the conversation.
"I remember ringing Yuzi afterwards and he was upset. It was very difficult to try and explain to him the auction dynamics at that time. He was visibly disinterested, and I don’t blame him. He was an RCBian and he was frustrated. But I can assure everyone that he is well-aware of the issues we were confronted with," Hesson said on cricket.com.
Chahal, one of the most successful bowlers in IPL history, still remains as the franchise's highest wicket-taker in the T20 tournament.
"We only retained three players because we wanted to buy back both Harshal Patel and Yuzi at the auction. By only retaining three players, it gave us an extra four crore to do that," Hesson said, speaking on the show.
"Probably the thing that I’m frustrated about even now is the fact that he couldn’t make the top two marquee lists despite being one of the best ever in the IPL. That was ridiculous. And the fact that he came in at No.65 in the auction list (sic) meant that it was really difficult for us to guarantee that we will get him," Hesson added.
"But yes, we spent hours and hours at the mock auction debating how we could potentially buy Yuzi," concluded Hesson.