Yuzvendra Chahal

A leg-spinner who does not turn the ball a lot and relies more on a persistent line and length to tie the batter down, Yuzvendra Chahal has represented India in both ODIs and T20Is. 

A spinner from Haryana, Chahal first attracted attention when he took 34 wickets in the national U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy in 2009, finishing the tournament as its leading wicket-taker.

The former Chess player was the second player in T20I history to have taken a six-wicket haul. With his knack for picking wickets at regular intervals, Chahal made his debut for India toured Zimbabwe in 2016 and was later given an opportunity against England in the T20Is, which he grabbed to the fullest. In the third T20 against England in February 2017, he became the first Indian bowler to claim a five-wicket haul in T20Is.

He became a part of the Mumbai Indians squad in 2011, but he only played a solitary game for them in 2013. Chahal went into the auction ahead of IPL 2014 and was picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore. The following two seasons saw Chahal grow as a player, picking up 35 wickets and becoming one of RCB's vital cogs. Chahal was the second-highest wicket-taker in the 2016 IPL season, representing Bangalore. He finished with a handsome haul of 21 wickets as RCB reached the final of the competition, which earned him his maiden call-up to the national side. 

However, a slight dip in form saw Chahal and his spin duo, Kuldeep Yadav, lose their place in the national side in 2019. While the break-up of Chahal and Kuldeep’s partnership seemed to have affected the latter more initially, the former too started to deviate from the track, resulting in a shocking exclusion from India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2021.

Although Chahal regained his place in the 2022 edition of the tournament, it did not mean much as he returned home from Australia without getting a place in the playing XI.

As Kuldeep found back his mojo and Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel too made their cases stronger as spin-bowling all-rounders, Chahal got pushed back in Team India’s scheme of things for the ODI World Cup. 

Despite having the position of IPL’s most successful bowler, RCB released him ahead of the 2022 edition. This setback did not hurt his performance one bit as he came back even stronger, bagging the Purple Cap while playing for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2022. He took 27 wickets that year and followed it up with another successful season, finishing with 21 wickets.

Chahal became the first bowler to complete 200 IPL wickets in the 2024 season. Thanks to his resurgence in the last couple of years as a trusted wicket-taker, the leg-spinner earned a call-up for the T20 World Cup 2024.

In November 2024, during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Yuzvendra Chahal reaffirmed his dominance in the shortest format with a mesmerising spell for Haryana against Manipur. His figures of 4 wickets for just 9 runs in 4 overs played a crucial role in dismantling Manipur's batting lineup, restricting them to a paltry 86 runs in 19.1 overs.

Chahal's exceptional form in domestic cricket significantly bolstered his value in the IPL 2025 Mega Auction. He was acquired by the Punjab Kings for a record-breaking sum of INR 18 crore, making him the most expensive spinner in IPL history. 

(As of April 2025)