In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 auction on Thursday, everybody was dumbstruck when Chennai Super Kings (CSK) paid a massive amount of INR 6.75 crore to rope in leg-spinner Piyush Chawla in their squad. That not only made Chawla the most expensive Indian player sold at the 2020 auction, but also raised eyebrows on CSK’s selection as they already featured the likes of Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh and Karn Sharma.
However, head coach Stephen Fleming has disclosed the reason why the three-time IPL winners opted to buy Chawla for such a huge amount.
“He (Piyush Chawla) is a quality leg-spinner which we value very highly. He is a different type of bowler than Karn Sharma but we also have to make some decisions around how that all fits in,” explained Fleming.
“We took the opportunity that came up and we have a pretty well balanced squad. We have always favored spin. Our home ground is very spin dominant so, having a lot of spinners is not a bad thing,” he added.
Meanwhile, Chawla, who is happy with the hefty deal, feels that the price tag won’t add any pressure in his performance.
“Experience always matters in T20 cricket. When you are in a tough situation, you can always fall back on your previous experience to come out of difficult circumstances. So I am happy to be a part of daddy’s army. Even during the auctions two years back, CSK had bid for me. But KKR used the RTM card to retain my services. I am happy that CSK have kept their faith again in me. The price tag won’t add to any pressure and I want to deliver,” Chawla told TOI from his home in Aligarh on Thursday.