Chahal on parting ways with RCB: 'I did not receive any phone call, no one even spoke to me'

Yuzvendra Chahal has revealed his anger and disappointment at the manner of his parting with Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the IPL 2022 season, saying he did not even "receive any phone call" from the franchise.

Ahead of that auction, Chahal had said, "Obviously, I want to go to RCB again" in an interview with R Ashwin, but as it transpired they did not even bid for him. He was eventually bought by Rajasthan Royals for INR 6.5 crore, with Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad being the other participants in the bid.

"When I put my name up for the auction, they promised me that they will go all out for me," Chahal told Ranveer Allahbadia's YouTube channel. "I said okay, but then I was not picked, I was very angry for two-three days. When I played my first match for RR against RCB, I did not speak to anyone from RCB, not even the coaches."

After beginning his IPL career with Mumbai Indians in 2011, Chahal was bought by RCB at the 2014 auction and played eight seasons for them. Over the course of 113 matches, Chahal went on to become - and still is - RCB's highest wicket-taker, but the franchise chose not to retain him ahead of the 2022 mega-auction.

"Definitely, I felt very bad. My main journey started in 2014. I also felt very weird because I played for the franchise for eight years," he said. "I would also say that I got the India cap because of my performances for RCB because they gave me a chance to perform. From the very first match, Virat bhai showed trust in me."

In that interview with Ashwin before the 2022 auction, Chahal had spoken of what he would like to get at the auction: "I don't want to say I want [INR] 15 crore or something, eight crore is enough for me." Now, he reiterated that he had not made a demand for an exorbitant sum of money.

"I heard things like, 'Yuzi ne bahut paise maang liye honge' [Yuzi must have asked for a lot of money]. Lot of such stuff was coming out," he said. "That's why I clarified in an interview that I had not asked for any specific amount. I know what I deserve. The worst thing, which I felt very bad about, was that I did not receive any phone call. No one even spoke to me. I think I played around 114 games for them. I couldn't understand what happened suddenly."

Since joining Royals, Chahal has taken 48 wickets in two IPL seasons. He won the Purple Cap during Royals' run to the final in IPL 2022.

"Anything can happen in the auction, and then I realised that it's okay, whatever happens, happens for good. The one plus point is that after coming to Rajasthan, I became a death bowler. At RCB, my overs were finished by the 16th or 17th over. Here, my cricket growth has improved 5-10 percent. That attachment is definitely there for RCB, but coming to Rajasthan has helped my cricket a lot."