What’s the story?
Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina are set to participate in the 13th edition of the DY Patil T20 tournament which will be held at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Nerul from January 4th to 15th in 2017.
Also Read: Yuvraj Singh believes he still has a lot to offer India
The tournament sees corporate clubs and public sector agencies battle it out on the field. The presence of Yuvraj and Raina among other leading cricketers will add star value to the event. It is pertinent to note that the competition had attracted the likes of Virender Sehwag and Parthiv Patel in the recent past.
In case you didn’t know
A few days back, Yuvraj shared an insight into his current state of mind. The left-hander had said, “I am training hard and have the confidence of getting the runs. I feel I still have a lot to offer, and I will do my best to regain my place in the side. I will do all that I can to get the call from the selectors, and take it from there. I still feel I have few more years of cricket left in me, and I will do all it takes to get back into the side and win games for India.“
On the other hand, Raina’s comeback plans had taken a major hit when he suffered a viral fever during India’s previous ODI series against New Zealand. Since then, the 30-year old showed signs of returning to form as evidenced by his twin scores of 91 in a Ranji Trophy match against Saurashtra at the start of this month.
Heart of the matter
A media release on Friday stated that the tournament, which carries a prize fund of INR 15 lakhs, will feature 16 teams with 31 matches being staged in all including the seven knockout games.
Here are the teams participating in the DY Patil Cup – Reliance One, Tata Sports Club, Canara Bank, BPCL, CAG, Air India, Indian Oil, DY Patil A, DY Patil B, State Bank of Travancore, ONGC, Mumbai Customs, RBI, Western Railways and Jain Irrigation.
What next?
With quite a few injuries in the Indian camp, there should be some spots in the ODI team available for grabs. In all probability, Yuvraj and Raina’s participation in this tournament could rule them out of the 50-overs series against England.
However, eye-catching performances in the DY Patil Cup might help their cause when the selectors meet to select the squad for the 3-match T20I series against Eoin Morgan’s team which will immediately follow the ODIs.
Sportskeeda’s Take
While Yuvraj will be eager to utilise the competition to try and get back into groove following his marriage, Raina would be wanting to obtain match practice after his Uttar Pradesh side failed to qualify for the Ranji Trophy knockouts. Nevertheless, the experienced duo’s intentions are there for everyone to see – they ain’t planning to throw in the towel yet.
