All IPL franchises would want to buy Chahal in IPL Auction: Sivaramakrishnan

India’s spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was not retained by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for the upcoming seasons. However the former India cricketer Laxman Sivaramakrishnan feels that the spinner will get big bucks in the mega auction. RCB had announced the names of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and Mohammed Siraj as their retentions.

Chahal has been one of the most pivotal cogs of RCB’s wheel over the years. Though he had an ordinary outing in the first half of IPL 2021 and was also dropped from the side for the T20 World Cup 2021, he made a stronger comeback in the UAE leg of the league. Sivaramakrishnan thus stated that RCB will want to buy back their star spinner in the auction.

He also recounted the bidding battle between RCB and Chennai Super Kings for R Ashwin in the past and said that the same might happen with Chahal in this auction as many teams will aim to get him in.

“RCB would want to buy him back. The other teams would want Chahal on their side because of his exceptional record in the IPL. The people who have more money will have the luxury of going for Chahal. In the end, Chahal might end up getting more money for being in the auction than by being retained

I remember how RCB was raising the paddle seeing CSK going hard for Ashwin. If RCB wants Chahal then the other teams might just bid to ensure he costs more to them. So, in the end, Chahal might end up being benefitted,” Sivaramakrishnan told NDTV.

Playing for the country is first and foremost: Laxman Sivaramakrishnan

There are quite a few big names that were not retained by their respective franchises. Sivaramakrishnan however feels that the main aim for all the players is to play for their country. He brought in the examples of Stokes and Smith who were released by their teams to explain the same.

“Playing for the country is first and foremost. Your ambition as a young cricketer is not to play in IPL but to play for the country. There was no IPL when Ben Stokes or Steve Smith started to play. So, their aim would always have been to play for England and Australia.

There are two ways to look at IPL retention. Firstly, the players who have already been retained will feel a sense of security. The players who have not been retained also have the opportunity,” the former cricketer added