‘Stopped drinking alcohol’, Yuzi Chahal opens up on rough patch:35-year-old with 200+ int’l wickets hasn’t played for India in last 3 years

Once a key part of Team India’s spin duo as he paired with Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal hasn’t played for the national team since August 2023. However, the 35-year-old has made a monumental change to tackle life, choosing sobriety, something extraordinary for a player who is referred to as a party animal. Former India spinner Yuzvendra Chahal is the one who has seen the light in this regard ahead of IPL 2026. He opened up about his lean patch and a major change that he brought to his life after not taking the field for the Indian team for almost three years. Chahal is set to play for the Punjab Kings, who finished the 18th edition of IPL as runners-up. ‘I stopped drinking alcohol, will take care of my body first’: Yuzi Chahal The 35-year-old, who’ll be seen playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, has revealed that it’s been quite a few months since he stopped consuming alcohol. While speaking to AB de Villiers on his YouTube show, Chahal said, “This year, my mind has said that I will take care of my body first. And I have some good news for you: I stopped drinking alcohol.” Further adding to the good news, PBKS spinner said, “It’s been more than six months. I am 35 now. I want to be more active, and I want to give 150 per cent for my team. As a senior bowler, if I go to the IPL, I want people to see me and think ‘we have to learn something from him’”. Chahal has undergone various ups and downs in recent years Yuzvendra Chahal has survived a tough couple of years on and off the field. It is not being admitted publicly that the leg spinner was ousted due to alcohol consumption. However, considering his image as a party animal in the cricket fraternity, followed by De Villiers’ confession about alcohol in the video, doesn’t deny the fact that it might have played a role. Chahal has not played for Team India since 2023. He could’ve surpassed the 100-wicket mark in T20I cricket like Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Hardik Pandya, if he had got any more chances. However, for now, he’s stuck on 96 wickets. His IPL performances haven’t been consistent in the past couple of years. Then his chaotic divorce with Dhanashree Verma followed a number of controversies, keeping the player on the sidelines or in the stands. IPL’s all-time leading wicket taker, but couldn’t lead his team to title Chahal played 14 games last year for the Punjab Kings and played a crucial role in the franchise reaching the play-offs after 11 years. He took 16 wickets in all at an economy rate of 9.56. During the 18th edition of the T20I tournament last year, Chahal also became the highest wicket-taker in the history of the league. However, Punjab, led by Shreyas Iyer, failed at the last hurdle as they were beaten by Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final. During the chat with AB de Villiers, Chahal revealed that PBKS fell short of RCB due to the absence of Marco Jansen, who had left early due to his commitment to the World Test Championship final. Even the leg-spinner himself wasn’t in his best shape as he revealed, “After the KKR game, I had a rib fracture, and later, my knuckle got fractured. So in the semifinal and final, I wasn’t able to bowl my proper leg-spin. Chahal tops the IPL all-time leading wicket takers list with 221 wickets in 174 games. Can the IPL legend regain his form and lead his side to maiden IPL title glory?