Suryansh had nothing but words of praise for Chahal, who has been able to scalp only 8 wickets this season. He referred to the veteran leg-spinner as one of the GOATs in the IPL, who has impressed with his performances over the last 10-15 years and that he is one of the best spinners in the country at the moment
Published: May 9, 2026 4:43 PM IST
Punjab Kings’ uncapped batter Suryansh Shegde, who made headlines last week with his blistering half-century against the Gujarat Titans, regarded veteran Indian leg-spinner and teammate Yuzvendra Chahal as one the GOATs of the Indian Premier League. Shegde made this comment while speaking to the media in a virtual press conference ahead of his side’s upcoming IPL 2026 game against the Delhi Capitals on Monday, May 11.
The North Indian outfit will be playing their first home game at the scenic Dharamshala Stadium in Himachal Pradesh and they arrive into this match on the back of three back-to-back losses. Punjab Kings had remained unbeaten in their first 7 matches but ever since they suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of Rajasthan Royals on April 28th, Punjab haven’t won a single game.
Most recently, Punjab endured a heartbreaking loss against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, who reached the summit of the points table with a 33-run victory. Prior to their meeting against SRH, they lost to Gujarat by 5 wickets in the 2nd last ball of the 2nd innings in Ahmedabad.
In that match, Punjab had scored only 163 runs but that too, at one point, seemed impossible, if it wasn’t for their uncapped batter Suryansh Shegde. The 23-year-old had arrived at the crease in a pressure situation when his side were 36/4 in the powerplay.
Suryansh came in with an aggressive intent and showcased his range hitting prowess, smacking 57 off just 29 at a strike rate of 196, including 5 humungous sixes 3 fours. His effort was complimented by Marcus Stoinis (40 off 31) and Marco Jansen (20 off 11). However, Punjab went on to lose the game but the biggest positive that came from the loss was Suryansh Shegde.
Suryansh Shegde has nothing but words of praise for ‘GOAT’ Yuzvendra Chahal
His knock instantly made him a major talking point and ahead of Punjab’s clash against Delhi on Monday, Suryansh appeared in front of the media for a virtual press conference. Therein, he was asked to reflect on a variety of topics with one of the questions being if the runners-up from last season are overdependent on Yuzvendra Chahal’s services.
In response, Suryansh had nothing but words of praise for Chahal, who has been able to scalp only 8 wickets this season. He referred to the veteran leg-spinner as one of the GOATs in the IPL, who has impressed with his performances over the last 10-15 years and that he is one of the best spinners in the country at the moment.
“You’re talking about a GOAT there. He has been playing IPL for the last 10-15 years and he has done well every year. So, I wouldn’t say we are overdependent on him but he is one of the best spinners in the league and India, so he will be preferred obviously.” – Suryansh Shegde said during a virtual press conference.
Yuzvendra Chahal has registered 229 wickets from 184 appearances in the IPL since making his debut in 2013. Although he has had a quite season so far, but Chahal’s class cannot be counted out. Last year, the 35-year-old played a pivotal role in Punjab’s journey to the final, picking up 16 wickets in 14 matches. The Shreyas Iyer-led side will definitely be counting on him as the cash rich league enters the business end.
