Just over a year after he announced his retirement from all formats of the game, Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh has confirmed that he may be making a comeback to the game.
The 38-year-old all-rounder, who drew curtains on his 19-year illustrious career on 10 June 2019, has said that he would like to play for Punjab’s T20 team, if given permission by the BCCI.
Singh, in an interview to Cricbuzz, revealed that it was on the suggestion of Punjab Cricket Association secretary Puneet Bali that he has considered to come out of retirement, and play for his state team during the domestic season.
Yuvraj, who has played in the Global T20 and Abu Dhabi T10 League since retiring, had recently been training with Punjab youngsters Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh and Anmolpreet Singh at their off-season camp in Mohali.
"I enjoyed spending time with these youngsters, and talking to them about various aspects of the game, I realised that they were able to pick up various things that I was telling them. I had to get into the nets to show them a few other elements, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well I was hitting the ball even though I hadn't held a bat for a really long time," Yuvraj told Cricbuzz.
“I also trained for those two months, and then I started to bat in the off-season camp. I made runs in some of the practice matches. Puneet Bali, the secretary of the Punjab Cricket Association, approached me after one of the sessions and asked me if I would reconsider coming out of retirement.”Yuvraj Singh to Cricbuzz
Yuvraj said that while he was initially skeptical about the decision to play domestic cricket in India once again, he has been motivated by the opportunity to make his state team win championships.
"The motivation is to help Punjab win championships. Bhajji (Harbhajan Singh), myself, we have won tournaments, but we haven't done it together for Punjab, so that was a big factor in my final call. Obviously, Shubman is already playing for India, and I feel there's plenty of potential in the other three boys. If I can contribute in any way to their development and to the development of Punjab cricket, then that will be wonderful. After all, playing for Punjab is what paved the way for my international career," said Yuvraj.
The 2011 World Cup Player of the Tournament Yuvraj has already written to BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and Secretary Jay Shah, seeking their permission to play for his state team once again.
"As things stand now, I will be playing only T20s if I get the nod. But who knows, let's see," he said.
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