Yuvraj Singh, The IPL Journeyman Finds New Home in Delhi Daredevils
Yuvraj Singh loves breaking records and in the IPL auctions, he has broken his own record to become the costliest IPL player ever. Can Yuvraj Singh inspire the Delhi Daredevils to their first IPL title?
He might not have made it to the ICC World Cup wearing the India colours but Yuvraj Singh's brand value hasn't taken any beating whatsoever, as far as the Indian Premier League is concerned. In the IPL auctions on Monday, this stylish Indian all-rounder was bought by Delhi Daredevils for an astronomical Rs. 16 crore, the highest in IPL history. (IPL 2015 Player Auctions Highlights)
Yuvraj had a base price of Rs. 2 crore, but ended up being sold eight times that price after a fierce tug-of-war between Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore, who paid Rs. 14 crore last year for his services. Initially, the bidding started off as a four-way battle with Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers, Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils but as the amount crossed Rs 7 crore, Royals and Kings XI pulled out leaving Delhi and Bangalore fight over the 2011 World Cup hero. In the end, Delhi Daredevils, who arrived at the auctions with the largest purse of Rs 39.75 crore, broke their bank and roped in the all-rounder from Punjab.
Since the 2011 World Cup, Yuvraj has had a riveting journey. After fighting through cancer, he found his way back into the Indian cricket team and announced his arrival with a swashbuckling 77 off just 35 deliveries against Australia at Rajkot, in 2013. He also made it to the T20 World Cup squad for India. (Yuvraj was Released to Exhaust Other Team's Purse, RCB director)
© AFP
Since then, life has behaved in a sinusoid curve for Yuvraj. After fetching the highest bidding price in the 2014 IPL auctions, he faced immense flak from the fans after his indifferent performance against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup finals. His form dipped and even in the beginning of the IPL, the left-hander, in RCB shirt, struggled to get the ball off the square.
In the latter half, this hard-hitting India batsman showed signs of recovering his vintage form with some devastating stroke-play. The inconsistency, though, hurt his chances of finding a place in the Indian middle-order.
This season, before the World Cup selection, Yuvraj struck form and performed admirably for Punjab in the domestic competitions. He scored three back-to-back hundred and rolled his arm over to get a few important scalps. However, those performances weren't enough for him to book a flight Down Under for the 2015 World Cup. Among much hue and cry from the fans, the MS Dhoni-led Team India started their campaign without the Man of the Series of the last World Cup. (Yuvraj Singh Defensive After Dad Yograj Slams MS Dhoni)
Does Yuvraj still fit in the Indian team? Could India have dropped any of their existing middle-order batsmen to find a place for him?
That's a debate for another day.
His India career might be in jeopardy, but his IPL career is in the pink of health. Yuvraj has been quite a journeyman in the world's richest T20 tournament. He started off being an icon player for Kings XI Punjab in the inaugural season in 2008. Since then, he has captained the Pune Warriors and then moved on to the Royal Challengers Bangalore last year. (Yuvraj Singh Happy to Play for Delhi Daredevils Under Gary Kirsten)
In the 84 games he has featured in the IPL, he has turned out for Punjab in 43 games, Pune has seen him don the Warrior colours in 27 games, while he graced the Virat Kohli led-Bangalore for 14 games.
The IPL teams still have faith in his abilities and he's still a hot property in the auctions. Delhi has dared to invest in him and after seven unsuccessful seasons, they badly need Yuvraj to bring the party to the capital!