Shreyas Iyer hasn’t used Yuzvendra Chahal wisely in the Indian Premier League 2025. Punjab Kings’ captain lacks courage and often goes on the backfoot when a left-handed batter is in the middle. He hasn’t backed Chahal in front of the southpaws in the ongoing season. The INR 18 crore buy of PBKS hasn’t completed four overs in five out of 10 matches so far.
Although he started the tournament on a poor note, the legendary bowler gained confidence after his match-winning spell against Kolkata Knight Riders, where he helped the team to defend 111 runs. He took four wickets and was named the Player of the Match. In the recent match against Chennai Super Kings, Iyer once again treated him unfairly and gave an over to Suryansh Shedge instead of the highest wicket-taker in the history of the Indian Premier League.
Sam Curran hit Shedge for 26 runs, with the former players, including Harbhajan Singh, criticising the Punjab leader for his blunder. Due to ordinary captaincy, he ran out of options and was forced to give the 19th over to Yuzi, who gave a befitting reply to his skipper.
He not only took 4 wickets but also registered a hat-trick, restricting Chennai to 190 in 19.4 overs. When MS Dhoni hit Chahal for a six, it looked like the 43-year-old would take the score to 220, but Yuzvendra Chahal had the last laugh as he got rid of the CSK captain.
Deepak Hooda, Anshul Kamboj and Noor Ahmad were sent back on the fourth, fifth and sixth deliveries of the over.
With Punjab winning by 4 wickets, Bhajji lauded Yuzvendra Chahal. “He is the best spinner in the history of the Indian Premier League. He is bowling like a spinner. It is not easy to bowl the 19th over of the innings. Kuldeep Yadav and Chahal are the only spinners who are bowling like spinners. They are spinning the ball and taking wickets. Other spinners are bowling like fast bowlers while fast bowlers are bowling like spinners,” he said on Star Sports.
In 10 matches, Chahal has taken 13 wickets at an average of 21.07 and an economy rate of 9.44.
On the other hand, Kuldeep has picked up 12 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 21.91 and an economy rate of 6.74.