Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh has been ruled out of the first two weeks of the Indian Premier League (IPL) this season. The news was confirmed by Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody in an interview with the official IPL website.
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Yuvraj had suffered an ankle injury during the ICC World T20 match between India and Australia. The Punjab batsman battled through the innings at Mohali, but failed to be fit for the semi-final of the tournament where he was replaced by Manish Pandey.
Speaking about Yuvraj, Moody said: “Sadly, Yuvraj will be out for a couple of weeks but we don’t know how long that is going to be. A player like Yuvraj Singh is important to any team. He is not only a match-winner with the bat, but he is a very useful bowler in those middle overs.”
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The former Australian cricketer also added that the Hyderabad-based franchise went into the auction earlier this year with the intention of picking up middle-order batsmen who would add more balance to their team.
“Going into the auction, we were aware that we needed to strengthen our middle order. Hence, we targeted players like Yuvraj and Deepak Hooda to give us that depth in our middle order and they complement what we already have in our squad,” he said.
Moody was full of praise for Bangladesh left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman who was bought by the Sunrisers for Rs. 1.4 cr.
“I met Mustafizur during the World Cup and he seems a good bright young kid. He will be looking forward to learning and looking forward to the opportunity. He is taken to big game cricket quite easily and we have already seen that in the World Cup stage and in the Asia Cup, big games against South Africa and India in the T20 World Cup.
“I feel he is more than comfortable and happy in big match situations. We have full confidence that he will adapt and adapt quickly,” Moody said.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will be hoping for an improved performance this season after failing to make the playoffs last year. They had finished sixth with 14 points.
The David Warner-captained side have made some big signings this year which include the likes of Yuvraj, Ashish Nehra, Mustafizur and Deepak Hooda. They begin their campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday.
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