IPL 2024

Yuzvendra Chahal speaks to AB de Villiers on alcohol and what cost Punjab Kings the IPL 2025 final

By Sandy Verma

Yuzvendra Chahal sat down with AB de Villiers on his YouTube channel ahead of IPL 2026 and the conversation covered a lot of ground.

The leg-spinner talked about his fitness, his disappointment with how last season ended, what he thinks cost Punjab Kings the title and a personal decision he has made ahead of the new season that he has kept quiet for over six months.

IPL 2026 starts on March 28 and Chahal goes into it with something to prove after a final that still clearly hurts.

The personal decision on alcohol and why he made it

Chahal told De Villiers that he has stopped drinking alcohol and has not had a drink in over six months.

For a 35 year old cricketer still playing at the highest level of franchise cricket it is the kind of decision that speaks to a broader shift in how he is approaching the final years of his career. He was direct about the reasoning behind it.

“I’ve stopped drinking alcohol and it’s been more than six months. I am now 35 so I want to be more active and give my 150 percent for my team. As a senior player I want people in the IPL to learn something from me.”

The timing of the decision lines up with the end of IPL 2025 and the disappointment of the final. Whether the two are connected or not Chahal is clearly approaching IPL 2026 with a different level of physical commitment than in previous seasons.

What Yuzvendra Chahal said about the IPL 2025 loss to RCB

Punjab Kings lost the IPL 2025 final to RCB by 6 runs. It was one of the closer finals the tournament has produced and Chahal has a very specific view about why PBKS came up short. He doesn’t point to tactics or batting collapses or missed chances. He points to a player who was not on the field.

“In the final we missed Jansen as he was not there. If he were there we would have definitely won the championship. The way he bowled throughout the tournament was brilliant and batting too he was capable of hitting two to three sixes in the end. We are even more confident now because of the way he is bowling. It’s not going to be easy for the opposition openers.”

Jansen’s absence from the final was a significant factor in PBKS’s bowling plans falling short and Chahal’s confidence in what the South African brings to the side heading into 2026 is clear. The fact that Jansen is fit and available this season is one of the reasons PBKS go into the new campaign with genuine belief.

Also READ: IPL 2026: Ishan Kishan to fill in as SRH captain with Pat Cummins missing early games

His own disappointing finish to 2025 and the vow for IPL 2026

Yuzvendra Chahal picked up 16 wickets in 14 matches in IPL 2025 at an average of 26.87 with two four-wicket hauls. Those are decent numbers on the surface but Chahal is not satisfied with how the most important games of the tournament went.

After a game against KKR he suffered a rib fracture and later fractured his knuckle. By the time the semi-final and final arrived he was not able to bowl his proper leg-spin and he knows it.

“I was a bit disappointed with myself. 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. This year I want to take care of my body first.”

That last line is the one that matters most heading into IPL 2026. Chahal stopping alcohol, talking about fitness, about being a role model for younger players in the squad and about the frustration of not being physically right for the games that matter most.

It all points to a bowler who has spent the off-season thinking seriously about what he wants from what might be one of his last major IPL campaigns. Punjab Kings need him at his best from game one. He sounds like a man who intends to be exactly that.

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