Former Team India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has made some significant comments about Yuzvendra Chahal’s professional cricket career. Pathan said that as the spinner did some commentary duties with them during the T20 World Cup 2026, fans assumed that the spin wizard might announce retirement soon from international cricket.
Yuzvendra Chahal is all set to feature for the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the IPL 2026 season. The seasoned spinner did a significant job behind the team’s promising run in the previous season. Chahal, one of the most impactful spinners in the league, will try his best to produce another stellar season.
Yuzvendra Chahal has been out of Team India for a long time
While talking on Star Sports, Irfan Pathan praised Yuzvendra Chahal as the most successful spinner in the history of the Indian Premier League. The Haryana-born, who remains a key must-watch figure in the IPL, has been out of the national camp for a couple of years now. His last international appearance came during the tour of the West Indies in 2023.
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Since India’s triumph in the 2024 T20 World Cup, Chahal has been dropped from the national team in every format. With the quality spinners like Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel, the 35-year-old has no place in the planning of the head coach Gautam Gambhir and the T20I team captain Suryakumar Yadav.
Is Yuzvendra Chahal set to retire soon?
When the Men in Blue were grinding hard on the field during the recently concluded T20 World Cup, Yuzvendra Chahal was doing the commentary along with some of the former cricketers, which forced the cricket fans to assume that he might consider retirement from international cricket. Pathan said that whenever an active player does commentary, the fans think that he must be leaving cricket.
“He is the most successful bowler in IPL history, and he has not played for India regularly. So, this thought will always be in his heart, and it should be as well for any player. Yuzi must also be thinking that he was doing commentary with us, and whenever an active player does commentary, the fans think that he must be leaving cricket,” Irfan Pathan said.
The former cricketer further claimed that the leggie is fit and focused to feature for the Punjab Kings, who concluded their IPL 2025 campaign as the runners-up.
“Yuzi is fully focused, fully ready for this IPL season, and he will look to improve on his performances, and he will step out on the ground to prove a point,” Irfan Pathan added.
PBKS’ first IPL 2026 match will be against the Gujarat Titans
In IPL 2025, Chahal had an underwhelming start, which he soon converted into an effective season, taking 16 wickets in 14 matches, including the best figure of 4/28.
He took wickets during the crucial moments of the matches, using all of the experience he gained through the international and franchise games. PBKS will play their first IPL 2026 on March 31 against the Gujarat Titans at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA Stadium in Mullanpur.
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