IPL 2023: “He is as Big a Name as Virat Kohli Or Rohit Sharma”- Harbhajan Singh on Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal became the highest wicket-taker in IPL history after he scalped 4 wickets in the RR vs KKR game on May 11. Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh reckons that Yuzvendra Chahal is as big a name as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav but bowlers are not given that much importance.

Yuzvendra Chahal has taken 187 wickets in the Indian Premier League. Earlier, the record for the highest wicket-taker in IPL was held by star Mumbai Indians’ pacer Lasith Malinga who has taken 183 wickets in his IPL career.

“If you compare his stature with any IPL batter, it will be higher than theirs. We forget bowlers at times because we give more importance to batters. He is as big a name as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav if we see his performances,” Harbhajan Singh said in a discussion on Star Sports.

Bowlers are not given that importance in our place: Harbhajan Singh

“Unfortunately, bowlers are not given that importance in our place but I am so glad to see his progress. When he was young, I remember the time when he came to the Mumbai Indians camp. He was very skillful at that time as well,” the former spinner recalled the time when the Haryana bowler joined the Mumbai Indians franchise.

The leg-spinner went wicketless in the only match he played for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2013 for whom he made his IPL debut. His career grew when he joined Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2014 and he has never looked back thereafter.

Courtesy of his consistent performance in the cash-rich league, Chahal got the call for the Men in Blue and has since then performed amazingly well in both T20Is and ODIs. RCB let him go ahead of the mega auction for IPL 2022 as they preferred Sri Lankan leg spinner Wanindu Hasaranga over him.

Rajasthan Royals then picked him for the IPL 2022 edition and he has given exceptional returns to the Sanju Samson-led side. However, he still doesn’t get as much recognition for his heroic performances in IPL as he should get specifically compared to any star Indian batter.