The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 was lighted up on Thursday night by individual brilliance from Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) premier wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and in-form opener Yashasvi Jaiswal.
The spin spearhead raised his stakes in the lucrative tournament by surpassing Dwayne Bravo as the leading wicket-taker. Chahal achieved the remarkable milestone in the 17th over when he dismissed Kolkakata Knight Riders (KKR) top-order batter Venkatesh Iyer for 57. He later added the crucial scalps of Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, and Shardul Thakur to take his overall wicket tally to 187. He returned figures of 4/25 to restrict an underperforming KKR unit to 149 runs in the stipulated 20 overs. In the process, he also became the Purple Cap holder for most wickets in the ongoing season, with 21 wickets from 12 matches to his name.
Over the years, Chahal has featured for three franchises in IPL. He was picked up by Mumbai Indians in the 2011 auction for INR 10,00,000. He hogged the limelight for his economical spell in the Champions League T20 final in 2011 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Chahal remained a part of the Mumbai Indians franchise for the 2012 and 2013 seasons with a retention fee of INR 10,00,000.
His legend grew after he was bought by RCB in IPL 2014 for INR 10,00,000. He was the go-to spinner for the then-captain Virat Kohli in the RCB franchise. His best performances in the lucrative tournament came in 2015 and 2016, where he picked up 23 and 21 wickets, respectively. His stakes grew at the franchise as his retention fee was hiked to INR 6,00,00,000 from the 2018 to 2021 season.
In 2022, he was bought by Rajasthan Royals for INR 6,5000,000 and straight away proved his worth by becoming the most wicket-taker of the season to take home the Purple Cap. Financially, Chahal has earned a total of INR 37,70,00,000 from 2011 to 2023. The value of each of his wickets in the lucrative tournament is INR 20,15,965, while all his wickets account for INR 37,69,85,609.
On the other hand, his young compatriot and opener, Yashasvi Jaiswal, continued his fine run in the IPL by remaining unbeaten on 98 runs off 47 deliveries. His innings, laced with 13 boundaries and five sixes, not only guided RR to the finish line with 41 balls to spare but improve their Net Run Rate in the hunt for a playoff spot.
Jaiswal was in control of the chase from the word go and made merry of the KKR bowlers. In the process, he entered the record books by scoring the fastest half-century in 13 deliveries. The young Indian batter earns INR 28,57,142 every match with a per-season fee of INR 4,00,00,000. The value of his five sixes in the record-breaking performance is INR 1,4285,710.
