Follow UsAt the IPL 2025 mega auction, Punjab Kings were crystal clear about the players they wanted and went all out for those individuals. One of the two individuals they wanted was Yuzvendra Chahal. Punjab went all out for Chahal and purchased the leggie for a whopping INR 18 crore.
Extremely early days, but three games into the new season, could there be a bit of buyer’s remorse?
So far in IPL 2025, Chahal has taken just a solitary wicket while averaging 102.00 and going at 10.2 runs per over. But more concerningly, he has completed his quota of four overs just once in three games.
Chahal being hit out of the attack has meant that they’ve had to turn to their all-rounders (because they went with the extra batter), and this backfired in the clash against Rajasthan Royals tonight at Mullanpur.
Chahal bowling just three overs meant that Marcus Stoinis had to bowl his full quota of 4. And after an excellent start, going for just 12 runs off his first 2 overs, Stoinis got plundered badly, as he conceded 36 off the last 2 overs he bowled. It meant that Rajasthan ended up scoring 205 in their 20 overs.
Chahal, so far this season, has bowled 25 balls against right-handers and has conceded just 27 runs. However, in contrast, against the lefties, he has conceded 75 runs off 35 balls, being hit for as many as 11 boundaries. And with most teams stacked with lefties in the top and middle-order, it’s not been easy going for the leggie.
The concern for Punjab is that this is not a dip that’s come out of nowhere. Chahal had a fantastic start to IPL 2024, but he has been shocking since the second half of the tournament. Across his last 15 IPL games, the leggie has now taken just 13 wickets at an average of 45.6 and an economy of 10.2.
He has gone at over 10 runs per over in 9 of the 15 games, and has taken 1 or no wickets a shocking 12 out of 15 games. You don’t expect Chahal to be economical but his high economy rate can be excused if he’s providing breakthroughs. But he’s clearly not been doing that either.
All of a sudden, Punjab Kings have an ₹18 Cr problem to be dealt with.