New Delhi: Indian Premier League’s highest wicket-taker Yuzvendra Chahal, was roped in by Punjab Kings for a whopping INR 18 crore in the 2025 mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday. PBKS, who headed into the mega auction with a massive purse of INR 110 crore, also bought Shreyas Iyer (26.75 crore) and Arshdeep Singh (18 crore) for a high price.
Chahal was the leading wicket-taker for Royal Challengers Bengaluru until 2021 but the franchise decided not to retain him and he was sold for INR 6.5 crore to Rajasthan Royals. While many overseas spinners got massive bids, Chahal was a steal for RR as his former franchise did not trigger a bidding war in 2022.
After getting picked by PBKS in the IPL 2025 mega auction, Chahal said that he was very nervous and had a lot of anxiety. He further said that he is getting more money at once than what he got in the last three years.
“I was very nervous, I had anxiety. Teen saal mein jo mil raha tha woh ek baar mai mil gya (whatever I was getting for the last three years, put together, I was getting it in one year). But, I think I deserve that. I am very excited” Chahal told JioCinema on Day 1 of the mega auction.
Chahal also said that his friends told him that he would go to Punjab Kings but he didn’t think much about that. “I was thinking like Rs 12-13 crore. Like you said, I deserve this” Chahal added.
‘Excited to work with Ponting’: Yuzvendra Chahal
Chahal said that he is looking forward to working with Ricky Ponting for the first time and also talked about his bond with Shreyas Iyer. “I am very excited. I have a very good bond with Shreyas Iyer. I will get to learn a lot from Ricky Ponting sir. And it’s near my home, it’s Chandigarh and before it was Jaipur” Chahal said.
He also talked about the changing nature of the T20 game and said that the impact player rule has changed a lot of things.
“The impact player rule has come, so the boundaries matter. Earlier, when you conceded 40 in 4 overs, you felt bad. Now, you feel it’s part and parcel of the game” Chahal said. He picked up 18 wickets in the 2024 IPL season for RR and took his tally to 205 wickets in the league.
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IPL 2025 mega auction: Yuzvendra Chahal was picked by Punjab Kings (PBKS) for INR 18 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
