Yuzvendra Chahal will be one of the many players who will go under the hammer in the Indian Premier League mega auction, which takes place in Bengaluru later this month. The leg-spinner, who had been a key members of the Royal Challengers Bangalore before being released from the franchise in December, had earlier stated that he would want to go back to RCB but insisted he won't be disappointed if any other franchise ropes him in.
During his conversation with fellow India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, Chahal opened up on his time in RCB and recalled a memory from his first season with the franchise. Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori was the head coach of the side while Virat Kohli was only one year into leading the side, having taken the captaincy reins in 2013.
“When I went to RCB in 2014, I was very nervous – on the field too. He (Kohli) used to be in the covers, and he was so energetic. And I was a youngster, and he sometimes got angry with me too. So in 2014, when I used to pick up a wicket those days, I used to charge towards the batsman to show my aggression. That happened two-three times, and the match referee spoke to [the coach] Daniel Vettori,” Chahal recalled.
The leg-spinner revealed that after Vettori was warned of Chahal's behavior, the former came to him and gave him a unique suggestion.
{{/usCountry}}The leg-spinner revealed that after Vettori was warned of Chahal's behavior, the former came to him and gave him a unique suggestion.
{{/usCountry}}“Then in one match, I said something bad, and Vettori sir came to me and said, ‘This is not good, you have the potential but if you can change this thing… if you want to run (after picking a wicket), you run towards the covers, to Virat, and say whatever you want to – Virat won’t mind,” Chahal said.
The leg-spinner went on to become a pivotal member of the RCB squad over the years, and a Right to Match (RTM card) was used on him in the 2018 auction.