The title is always important, much more than Purple Cap: Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal, the leading wicket-taker of the ongoing IPL 2022, said that his priority is to help his side win the IPL title, rather than winning the purple cap. In the finishing phase of the league stage, there was a bit of competition between Chahal and Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Wanindu Hasaranga.

However, the Royals’ spinner took the upper hand and stands on top of the list with 26 wickets, just two wickets more than Hasaranga. Chahal had a fresh start by joining the Rajasthan Royals this season and led the spin-attack for his franchise. Despite his splendid performances with RCB, he was not retained by the franchise. Chahal picked up his first IPL hat-trick, and his first five-wicket haul while playing with the Royals.

“Never thought much about the Purple Cap, the plan was always to finish in the top two and happy to get that. The title is always important, much more than the Purple Cap,” Chahal was quoted by India Today.

I backed myself on doing the things I’m good at: Yuzvendra Chahal

“I backed myself on doing the things I’m good at, just kept my focus on delivering game by game. The preparation has been good, everyone is positive and excited for this game (Qualifier 1),” he added.

Chahal has a chance to finish ahead of Hasaranga, but the leg-spinner is unconcerned about the two-way competition at the moment. He is on his path to beating Imran Tahir’s record for most wickets by a spinner in an IPL season. Moreover, Chahal stated that at the Royals this year, he backed himself to display his capabilities and kept things simple. In the same light, another star RR bowler Trent Boult talked of having a well very balance group this time around.

“We’ve got a very well balanced group that has played in various tournaments, World Cups, knockout games, etc, so I think it is all on everyone to help each other out but no pressure really from our end, we’re just excited to go out there and do what we’ve been doing throughout the season,” Boult added.

The Royals are playing against the Gujarat Titans in the Qualifier 1 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata as they look to bag an IPL title for the first time after the inaugural season. The winner of the game will qualify for the finals straight away, whereas the losing team will face either LSG or RCB in the second Qualifier.