3 teams that could target Yuzvendra Chahal in the IPL 2025 Auction ft. RCB

Despite having a stellar run with the Rajasthan Royals (RR), leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal wasn't retained ahead of the 2025 IPL mega auctions. Chahal was roped in by the inaugural champions in 2022 and had a fruitful three seasons.

He had a record-breaking season in 2022, bagging 27 wickets in 17 matches. Chahal followed it up with another superb season in 2023, taking 21 wickets. Although he did scalp 18 wickets in 2024, the veteran spinner had an economy rate of 9.41.

Chahal was part of the Indian squad in the 2022 and 2024 T20 World Cups but didn't feature in a single game. The lack of game time for Team India and the emergence of young players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel might have prompted the Royals not to retain Chahal.

With Chahal’s experience, he will be on the radar of several franchises as they might want to build the spin bowling core around him. The leggie is currently the leading wicket-taker in IPL history with 205 scalps to his name and will be hoping to fetch a big sum in the upcoming auction.

Now let us have a look at three franchises that might target Chahal in the auction:

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#1 Royal Challengers Bengaluru

It was a strange move from the RCB management when they decided to release Chahal ahead of the 2022 season. He was a consistent performer for the perennial underachievers over a long time.

More importantly, he played a major part of his IPL career at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, the highest-scoring venue in India. Chahal knows the conditions in Chinnaswamy inside out.

Having shared the dressing room with the core of RCB, the wrist spinner could be on the radar of the franchise and his experience of bowling tidy and match-winning spells in Bengaluru might tempt them to bring Chahal back.

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#2 Mumbai Indians

Not many would remember but Yuzvendra Chahal started his IPL career with the Mumbai Indians in 2013. He didn't get enough games and had to warm the benches and eventually went on to make a name for himself at RCB.

The five-time IPL champions have been off-color in the last couple of seasons and haven't got their act right after back-to-back IPL titles in 2019 and 2020. Mumbai lacked a quality spinner in the last three seasons and there is a possibility they could target Chahal in the upcoming auction.

Mumbai Indians needed a spinner in the middle overs who could not only stem the run flow but get wickets at regular intervals and Chahal could be a perfect choice for the role.

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#3 Punjab Kings

Over the years, the Punjab Kings have had a good time at the auction table but it hasn't reflected on the on-field results. They are yet to win the tournament and have failed to qualify for the playoffs for the last 10 years.

Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh were the only two players retained by Punjab which suggests that they have to build the team from scratch.

They lacked in the spin department ever since the departure of Ravi Bishnoi. The team management and the owners could go all out for Chahal and make him the main spinner.