In the IPL 2022 mega auction, Yuzvendra Chahal's unexpected exit from the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) became a notable episode, leaving fans surprised and the leg-spinner himself frustrated. Chahal, who had spent eight seasons with RCB, expressed disappointment over the lack of active pursuit by the franchise, despite promises made. Now, former Director of Cricket at RCB, Mike Hesson, sheds light on the circumstances leading to Chahal's departure.
Speaking on the 'Unwind With Cricket.com' show, Hesson revealed that RCB's decision to retain only three players was a strategic move aimed at buying back both Harshal Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal at the auction.
"I spoke to Yuzi (Yuzvendra Chahal) obviously when we did the initial retention and we only retained three players because we felt we wanted to try and buy back both Harshal Patel and Yuzi at the auction. Probably the thing that I'm really frustrated about even now is as you said Yuzi is probably one of the top-five players of all time for RCB but he was also one of the best ever in the IPL and the fact that he couldn't make the top two marquee lists at that time was ridiculous, the fact that he came in as number 65 on the auction list means that it was really difficult for us to guarantee we were going to get him," Hesson said.
Furthermore, Hesson stated that five other franchises had expressed interest in securing Chahal during the auction. He went on to discuss RCB's successful acquisition of Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga.
"For Chahal, we knew there were five other teams that had more money than us and if we let go of all the bowlers before that and then we got to bidding for Yuzi and everyone knew we were going for Yuzi and we didn't get him, we could have got bullied by five other teams and then been left with no leg spinner. So it was one that we'd spent hours and hours debating and trying to manipulate the mock auctions of how we could potentially leave ourselves with Yuzi. We felt we needed to have a decent dip at Wanindu Hasaranga obviously the fact he was, a three-dimensional player, batting for Sri Lanka had been really good at that time, was well, good player of spin and was performing incredibly well on the international stage. So we felt that if we weren't going to get Yuzi, Hasaranga was a really nice option for us," he added.
Hesson proceeded to clarify that during their post-auction discussion, the leg spinner expressed his disappointment with RCB, a sentiment Hesson fully comprehended. The 49-year-old emphasized that the decisions were not solely his responsibility, and Chahal was cognizant of the challenges within the management.
He concluded by saying, "We got Hasaranga which we were delighted with but we knew that obviously, that would have flow-on effects so it was something that we tried really hard and then I remember ringing Yuzi afterwards, he was upset and trying to explain to him the auction dynamics at that time was you know he was not interested and I don't blame him. He was an RCBian and he was frustrated but I can assure you and him that is well aware of the issues we were confronted with and obviously, I was part of that decision-making process but I certainly wasn't the only one involved in those discussions."
