After being chosen by the Indian Premier League (IPL) Mumbai Indians (MI) for his base price of ₹1 crore in the final round of the IPL 2019 player auction, Yuvraj Singh clarified that he is not taking his cricket lightly and still have the burning desire to play.
During a recent chat with the Mumbai Mirror, Yuvi said, “There is the fire in the belly, I’m keen to be competitive. The hunger is there, I’m not playing for the sake of playing. I am playing because I want to play and I’m passionate about playing. Hopefully, in this season I will be able to deliver.”
In the first round of bidding, Yuvraj went unsold before being picked by Mumbai eventually. The southpaw said he wasn’t disappointed at being ignored in the first round, as he had already seen it coming.
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Describing the feeling, the southpaw said, “There was no disappointment as such because I had an idea that I would not be picked in the first round. I am at the stage of my career where it could be presumed that I may be in the last stages. I had hoped that there would be buyers for me in the last round. Somewhere within me, there was a feeling that I might go to Mumbai. Frankly, I am looking at an opportunity to play this year and it has come. Akash (Ambani) had some nice things to say about me and it feels good to have such confidence.”
He further added, “It will also be a familiar environment for me because Zak (Zaheer Khan, director of cricket), Sachin (Tendulkar, the mentor) and Rohit (Sharma, the captain) are there. Looking forward to playing with them again. When you have support, it motivates you to do well, it brings out the best in you.”
Yuvraj had a forgettable outing for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), managing to score just 65 runs from six innings at a strike-rate of 89.04. He explained that the crucial reason behind his poor performance was his unsettled batting position. He also said he has not got a chance to settle down in one team in the IPL; Mumbai will be the sixth IPL side he’s representing after Punjab, Pune Warriors India, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Delhi Capitals (DC) (former Delhi Daredevils) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
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Describing the same, the flamboyant cricketer said, “Agreed, that the last season was not great. But the point was I played at different positions in four-five games. This year I am very keen to make the best of the opportunities that come my way. Yes, there are one or two teams left for which I’ve not played. It’s a little unfortunate that I’ve not had a chance to get settled at one team. I had a very good season with RCB in 2013 and never got to stay there. After the next auction, I went to Delhi, from there to Hyderabad. But I am actually happy that my last few years will be in Mumbai.”
Yuvraj said he’ll take a decision on retirement after the 2019 World Cup. He will monitor his life after the mega event as he feels that the next three-four months are crucial for him in cricket and he just want to just focus on that.
