Yuzvendra Chahal in action during IPL 2025© AFP
It has been a disappointing IPL 2025 campaign for Punjab Kings spinner Yuzvendra Chahal till now. Chahal, who was bought for a mammoth Rs 18 crore, has picked just two wickets in five matches at an economy rate of 11.13. Chahal has turned out to be ineffective when it comes to some situations and his dismal run has resulted in a lot of criticism from fans as well as experts. Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer believes that Chahal has been quite defensive and he looks ‘off-colour’ right now.
“I think the few deliveries he bowled, when he picked up Travis Head‘s wicket, I think that is what we need to see Chahal bowl more often. Looking to spin the ball, looking to bowl googlies and looking to put some revs on the ball, which I think we are missing from watching Yuzi,” Jaffer said on ESPNCricinfo. “He is very defensive in his mindset and the pressure is pretty much visible on his face that he is off-colour.”
Former India cricketer Piyush Chawla agreed with Jaffer and said that Chahal should bowl more googlies.
“We have not seen him bowl googlies also. If you are bowling wide outside off-stump for them, then it is going away from them. So, you eventually get a chance to pick a wicket or something like that, but he did not bowl those, maybe because of lack of form if you see this season,” Chawla said.
As Punjab Kings suffered their second loss of the season after losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, their spin-bowling coach Sunil Joshi said they had their chances in the high-scoring slugfest but failed to capitalise on them. After three wins in four matches, PBKS were looking to climb up the standings but suffered an eight-wicket defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Despite showcasing their aggressive batting style and posting 245/6 on the board, the Kings fell short on the bowling front as Sunrisers Hyderabad chased down the target with 9 balls remaining.
(With IANS inputs)
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