Veteran batsman Yuvraj Singh is eager to make amends for a disappointing stint with Kings XI Punjab when he turns out for Mumbai Indians in the 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The 37-year-old could only muster a paltry 65 runs in six innings with the Punjab franchise in the 2018 edition and was subsequently released from his contract. The left-hander narrowly avoided going unsold in the recent IPL player auction at Jaipur before being purchased by Mumbai in an accelerated round later.
Yuvraj had entered the auction with an initial reserve price of approximately USD 214,000 and was ultimately sold at a reduced price of around USD 143,000.
Despite not being picked by any of the eight franchise in the first round of bidding, Yuvraj has revealed that he was confident of finding a suitor for his services.
“There was no disappointment as such. The reason is obvious. When you are putting together an IPL team, you will be looking at the youngsters. 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,” the 2011 World Cup winner told Mumbai Mirror.
The moment we’ve all been waiting for!
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) December 19, 2018
Mr. Yuvraj Singh in the MI Blue and Gold 💙🦁#CricketMeriJaan @YUVSTRONG12 pic.twitter.com/Pt9lIkad2e
At Mumbai, Yuvraj will be reunited with his former India team-mates Sachin Tendulkar (mentor), Zaheer Khan (director of operations) and Rohit Sharma (skipper). He believes that being around familiar faces could help his regain his best form.
“It will also be a familiar environment for me because Zak (Zaheer Khan), Sachin and Rohit are there. I have played a lot of cricket with them. I’m looking forward to playing with them again. When you have support, it motivates you to do well, it brings out the best in you,” he stated.
“Agreed, that the last season was not great. But the point was I played at different positions in four-five games. I was not given one position to bat. This year I am very keen to make the best of the opportunities that come my way,” Yuvraj continued.
Yuvraj will be joined at Mumbai by off-spinner Jayant Yadav who joined the franchise on Friday after a trade with Delhi Capitals (formerly Delhi Daredevils).
