IPL 2021: Yuzvendra Chahal raring to make an impact

It's difficult to imagine poetical works without a tinge of William Shakespeare's essence, just as Bengaluru would be without Yuzvendra Chahal, the city's favourite magician. They say, some bonds are meant to be cherished forever.

It all began on February 13, 2014, when Richard Madley put his gavel down saying, "Yuzvendra Chahal ... going 1 .. 2 .. 3 ... sold to the Royal Challengers Bangalore!"

Little did we know that a 24-year-old youngster, armed with enormous ambitions, would cast a beautiful spell in the years to come. Be it the record-breaking 6/25 spell against England to achieving his 100th scalp in IPL, he has a plethora of memories correlated to the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium. There is a reason why Bengaluru has always had a special place in his heart. Over the years, he has proved to be the backbone of the RCB bowling line-up, picking wickets at crucial junctures of the game. Despite the small dimensions of boundaries at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Chahal's moxie and tactful bowling made him a uniquely formidable spinner to face. In addition, he has developed substantial goodwill amongst the RCB fans.

Speaking on Aakash Chopra’s YouTube channel, the veteran leg-spinner expressed his ambition to don the RCB red and gold jersey until he decides to call it quits.

“When I joined in 2014 people got to know that there is someone named Chahal too because at that time I didn't use to play much in Ranji Trophy because there were Mishy bhaiya (Amit Mishra) and Jayant (Yadav)... and it was in2014 that my life changed."So, obviously, I want to retire with the RCB and it will always be my dream that whenever I play in the IPL, it is for RCB," the RCB leg spinner was quoted as saying.

While he displayed a fine show in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, he was forced to sit out of the final two T20Is after testing positive for COVID-19. He finished the ODI series as the highest taker with 5 scalps in two matches. After an impressive show against Sri Lanka, the 31-year-old is keen to continue the same form into the second phase of IPL. 

“My entire focus is on the IPL. For now, it's about recovering as quickly as possible because it takes some time to do so after Covid. The rhythm I had in Sri Lanka, I will continue the same during the IPL," Chahal added.

The biggest takeaway from the first phase of IPL 2021 was the resurgence of Glenn Maxwell. After a relatively poor IPL 2020 season, there were question marks about his batting credentials in the limited-overs format. He answered the critics in some fashion, amassing 223 runs in 6 innings for Royal Challengers Bangalore. His close compatriot, Chahal revealed the reason behind the Aussie all-rounder finding his mojo back. 

He went on to say that when a skipper like Virat Kohli expects his players to give their best on the field, the players will most likely fabricate the same intensity. 

“I think the captain makes the difference. He knows our captain is the captain of the Indian team as well, who doesn’t like [leniency]. He likes it when you give your 100% on the field irrespective of what you do off it. Maxwell knew that and that slight leniency that was in other IPL franchises he wouldn’t find here," he explained. 

Come September 20, Yuzvendra Chahal - the second-highest wicket-taker in the UAE leg of IPL - will be raring to hit the ground running yet again.