IPL Auction 2019: Yuvraj Singh wasn’t surprised by the first-round snub during the auctions 

What’s the story?

Yuvraj Singh who was picked up by the Mumbai Indians for his base price of INR 1 crore revealed that he somewhat had an idea about not being picked in the first round and wasn’t too disappointed when teams didn’t show any interest initially.

“There was no disappointment as such because I had an idea that I would not be picked in the first round,” Yuvraj Singh was quoted saying by the Mumbai Mirror.

He also understood why the teams didn’t opt for him in the first round. He feels that IPL teams are built around youngsters and at this stage of his career, he thought, he would only be picked in the later stages of the auction.

“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,” he said.

In case you didn’t know…

Yuvraj Singh was one of the most sought-after players a few years ago during the auctions. In fact, in 2014 and 2015, he was the most expensive player (he got 14 and 16 crore respectively). However, his stocks have fallen and so has his form. He hasn’t been at his best in the last few seasons. Since 2015, he hasn’t touched the 300-run mark in any of the seasons and in fact, he played a mere 8 games in the IPL-11.

After going unsold in the first round of the auctions, he was bought at his base price of INR 1 crore by Mumbai Indians. This would be Yuvraj’s sixth IPL team after Kings XI Punjab, Pune Warriors, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The Details

In the same interview, Yuvraj also admitted that he did have a gut feeling that he might play for Mumbai Indians in the upcoming season. He was also excited about the fact that he will playing alongside Rohit Sharma and will join hands with former India teammate Zaheer Khan who was appointed as the director of cricket and Sachin Tendulkar who is the mentor.

“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. It will also be a familiar environment for me because Zak [Zaheer Khan], Sachin [Tendulkar] and Rohit [Sharma] are there. I have played a lot of cricket with them. 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 further added.

The Punjab-born all-rounder also feels that he still has the fire to go out there and perform. He’s just not playing for the sake of it and the hunger is still alive.

“There is a 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,” the southpaw was quoted saying.

What’s next?

Yuvraj is currently playing for Punjab in the Ranji Trophy. He hasn’t had the best of seasons so far. However, he will hope to strike some form and get back into decent rhythm ahead of the IPL and push his case for yet another India comeback.