Unfair to criticise Yuvraj Singh alone for team's poor performance: JP Duminy

(From left) Yuvraj Singh and JP Duminy

Yuvraj Singh was bought by Delhi Daredevils for a record price of Rs.16 crore this season and was expected to set the IPL on fire with his batting and bowling. But the costliest buy in the IPL history has so far not lived up to the expectations of his franchise and the fans.

The left-handed batsman from India has managed to score 124 runs from 7 matches with each run costing the franchise close to Rs 6.5 lakhs. In the DD’s 10-wicket humiliating defeat at the hands of RCB on Sunday, Yuvraj managed to score 2 runs off 5 balls.

Now, JP Duminy, captain of Delhi Daredevils, has come out in support of struggling Yuvraj Singh and has said that Yuvraj will bounce back and perform well for the team.

“It is easy to criticise him. He has not had great opportunities in the matches we have done well and I think he will be the first to admit that he would have loved to contribute, but it is not because of one guy's performance that we are losing. He is a massive player for us and I have all the confidence that he is going to come good for us in the later parts of the tournament," said Duminy.

India’s fast bowler Zaheer Khan who has missed the IPL 8 season so far is expected to return and give a much-needed boost to Delhi Daredevils.

"I think he (Zaheer) is about 95 percent fit to be honest. My thinking is, he will be up for selection for the game on the first. His progress has been good, he has been very determined to come back and represent Delhi," said Duminy.

Despite losing four out of their seven games and getting hammered by RCB in the last game, Duminy said there is no need to panic and make drastic changes in the team.

"We have been inconsistent in both batting and bowling department and as I said earlier, we need to take a lot of lessons out of today's game, take a hard look at ourselves. It is not about pointing fingers. Each of us could have done 10 percent better. Plus, we should not take the credit away from RCB, the way they came out and bowled.

"We got a few days off now and there is time to figure out what is the best combination for us. We need to explore some options and see whether we need to make changes. I wouldn't think we will make drastic changes. We have been inconsistent though there has been really good stuff from us as a team. We got one more game left here at the Kotla so we need to come back firing," said Duminy.