The veteran Indian all-rounder, Yuvraj Singh had an eleventh-hour pick in the auction for this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) and might have already played his last World Cup. He has not played any memorable innings for Punjab in this year’s Ranji Trophy either but glimpses of one of India’s finest allrounders are still seen on occasions. On Thursday, Yuvraj reminded of his vintage ability when he amassed 80 off just 57 balls for Air India in the ongoing DY Patil T20 Cup tournament in Mumbai.
Yuvraj’s innings came ahead of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy followed by IPL 2019 and it would lift the confidence of Mumbai Indians – the franchise which bought Yuvraj in the dying moments of the auction last month, saving grace. He added 51 runs with Paul Valthaty, a past IPL star, and then 88 with Sujit Nayak, to fly Air India’s total to 169 for 7 in the allotted 20 overs against Mumbai Customs.
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However, Yuvi’s team failed to defend the score as Customs won the game in the last over losing just one wicket. Yuvraj, the man of the series of the 2011 World Cup, also bowled an over in which he conceded as many as 12 runs.
Another beauty @YUVSTRONG12 #yuvrajsingh #yuvi #yuvraj @mipaltan @TeamYuvi12 pic.twitter.com/X3A8bjL6GW
— Yuvraj singh die hard fans (@YSDFofficial) January 24, 2019
Yuvraj will next play for Punjab in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy starting February 21 and then there is the big one – IPL – starting in March because of the World Cup due to kick off in May. His knock in DY Patil tournament was his first fifty for Yuvraj in competitive cricket after some time. His last fifty (96) had come for Punjab against Railways in Vijay Hazare Trophy in early October last year.
Happiness Is Watching Yuvraj Singh's Sixes.. ❤❤ #YuvianForever😍😍 #Yuvi #Yuvrajsingh pic.twitter.com/FAfMK8348D
— Guru Prasad Pspk//Vote For Glass🥛🥛 (@SklmJsp) January 24, 2019
The flamboyant all-rounder was bought by MI at his base price of ₹1 crore, along with Sri Lankan veteran Lasith Malinga. The batting all-rounder, who has missed the IPL once in the past because of illness, will be making an appearance for his sixth team in the IPL this season. Last year, he played for KXIP but had a poor form, scoring just 65 runs in eight games, and was released.
