Top IPL wicket-taker Yuzvendra Chahal keeps foxing batters with magic and mystery field placements
Top IPL wicket-taker Chahal keeps foxing batters with magic and mystery field placements. Yuzvendra Chahal has taken 187 wickets from 144 games in IPL history.
In this modern age of cricket where batters have taken the upper hand mostly by smashing almost every delivery all around the park by reducing their fear of getting dismissed, it’s extraordinary to sit at the top of the wicket list with a low economy, especially for a spinner like Yuzvendra Chahal who has spent most of his Indian Premier League (IPL) journey at the batting paradise named M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Chahal is not an ordinary spinner and one may need to watch him closely to truly appreciate his genius skills. Fooling the batters continuously seems to be his bread and butter trade. Amidst all the attention grabbed by the fours and sixes by young Yashasvi Jaiswal’s fastest IPL fifty against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Chahal became the tournament’s highest wicket-taker with 187 scalps in 144 games at an economy of 7.65, going ahead Dwayne Bravo’s 183 IPL wickets.
Read More: IPL 2023, KKR vs RR: Chahal, Jaiswal's carnage take Rajasthan to third spot in points table
A look at his IPL journey will speak how Chahal has constructed himself over the years while maintaining high standards.
From practicing in sugarcane yards to foxing batters: Chahal’s journey towards the top
After a few impressive first-class games, 21-year-old Haryana leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal earned his maiden IPL contract in 2011 for Mumbai Indians. The franchise didn’t give him many matches, for which he went into the auction pool for the 2014 edition of the IPL, where Chahal was picked for INR 10 lakh by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). It turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Chahal who played an integral part in their bowling line-up.
From his early days where he used to travel to the nearby sugarcane yards just to practice leg spin on the cement turfs, Chahal suddenly became RCB captain Virat Kohli’s go-to man. Even though he began the season well in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2014, once the tournament returned to India, he couldn’t get many wickets, but remained economical throughout the season. He was also a contender for the ‘Emerging Player of the Year’ award but he lost out to Axar Patel in the end.
Since then at that batting paradise and small ground of M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Chahal picked 139 wickets at an economy of 7.58 for RCB before reaching the auction table in 2022 where Rajasthan Royals (RR) signed him for INR 6.50 crore. In his maiden season for RR, he earned the purple cap with 27 wickets in 17 games and still continues to do wonders for the pink army.
Year | Matches | Wickets | Average | Economy | Best |