Despite having set a low base price of Rs 1 crore, Yuvraj Singh says he was not surprised when none of the eight IPL teams bid for him in the first round of the 2019 IPL auction held in Jaipur on Tuesday, 18 December.
There was no disappointment as such because I had an idea that I would not be picked in the first round.Yuvraj Singh to Mumbai Mirror
The 37-year-old all-rounder last played for India during the one-day series in West Indies last June and was released by his 2018 IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab in the transfer window last month.
With player base prices starting at Rs 2 crore, Yuvraj slotted himself in the Rs 1 crore bracket but still found no buyer in the afternoon session of the IPL auction. It was only in the second round that Mumbai Indians lifted their paddle for him and added him to their roster for his base price.
When you are putting together an IPL team, you will be looking at the youngsters. I am at that stage of my career where it could be presumed that I may be in the last stages of my career. I had hoped that there would be a buyer for me in the last round.Yuvraj Singh to Mumbai Mirror
In the 2018 IPL, Yuvraj played just eight games for Kings XI Punjab, scoring 65 runs at a strike rate of 89.04.
Since then, he’s played seven Vijay Hazare matches and 3 Ranji games for Punjab.
Mumbai Indians’ franchise owner Akash Ambani though was quite happy to have added Yuvraj to his team, even saying that picking him up at just Rs 1 crore was the tournament’s history’s biggest steal.
To be honest, we had budgeted a lot more for Yuvraj and Malinga. At Rs one crore, a player like Yuvraj is probably a (biggest) steal of 12 (sic) years. He has won every trophy there is to be won.Akash Ambani, Owner - Mumbai Indians
In 2015, Yuvraj fetched a record Rs 16 crore deal with the Delhi franchise since then his IPL fortunes have fallen rapidly. He was picked up by KXIP at his base of price of Rs 2 crore earlier this year before the team released him following a lean 2018 IPL.
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