Published: Feb 17, 2015, 08:30 AM (IST)
Edited: Feb 17, 2015, 11:15 AM (IST)
Yuvraj Singh, who was among the biggest cricketers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 auction was bought for Rs 16 crores by the Delhi Daredevils. The amount spent proves that the all-rounder, who is not in the Indian team any more, remains a hot property in Indian cricket, says Devarchit Varma.
Yuvraj Singh has been out of favour with the Indian selectors since the ICC World T20 2014. Delhi Daredevils have traditionally been a side languishing in the bottom half of the table— they finished last in IPL 2014 and IPL 2013. Yet, both Yuvraj Singh and Delhi Daredevils were the news-makers on Monday when the IPL Auction 2015 was held, hogging all the limelight and grabbing more attention from the Indian fans than Ireland’s hard work and consistent improvement which manifested in the form of a win over the West Indies in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
Yuvraj Singh’s exclusion from India’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 squad raised a huge furore — the public reacted as if the world had come to an end and that Indian cricket had hit nadir — refusing to acknowledge that Indian cricket had moved on and other icons would inevitably emerge in a country that’s fanatically devoted to the game. The reaction was symptomatic of a funereal milieu, as if there there was no reason left to celebrate the game anymore, as though its soul had been sucked out. Full list of players bought by Delhi Daredevils
The support that Yuvraj received from all quarters right from the day his battle against cancer began till this moment is stupendous, but what is surprising to see is that the all-rounder still remains a hot property among the IPL franchises. Yuvraj Singh was the costliest player in the IPL 2014 Auction and once again in the IPL 2015 Auction Yuvraj was worth a king’s ransom.
Yuvraj’s recent performances in the international circuit showed that springtime was well behind him. The all-rounder’s inconsistency and apparent lack of vigour had started hurting the Indian team. No one can forget the manner in which he struggled against Sri Lanka in the ICC World T20 2014 final, which India lost and Yuvraj received flak from all departments.
Even in IPL 2014, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) spent a whopping Rs 14 crores for the all-rounder but unfortunately he failed to repay that faith. Yuvraj was happy that he would get lot of freedom in company of good friends like Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers and that he won’t be under a lot of pressure as he would in another team. But the performances spoke otherwise as Yuvraj was released at the first opportunity.
Nevertheless, Delhi Daredevils have made quite a few changes in their squad in the past couple of years and with fresh faces and talismanic cricketers like Yuvraj and Zaheer Khan who have played and had success under Gary Kirsten, who is in charge of coaching responsibilities, Delhi Daredevils can hope for a change in fortunes. They may also see an increase in their fan base as Indian cricket fans would love to see Yuvraj and Zaheer back on the field together.
(Devarchit Varma is a reporter with CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter @Devarchit)
