Delhi Daredevils (DD) star all-rounder Yuvraj Singh's lack of form hurt them as they are now out of contention for a place in the Playoffs of Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015.
The southpaw was bought by the Delhi Dardevils management for a whopping Rs 16 crore during this year's auctions, held in Bangalore. He certainly did not live up to his price tag as he failed to impress his selectors from the Daredevils. He only managed to perform in a couple of matches and in only one instance his knock came as a match-winning one.
Yuvraj has managed to score 205 runs in 12 games at an average of 18.63. His strike rate also remains relatively poor compared to his standards (117.14). DD CEO Hemant Dua said that Yuvraj cannot be blamed for his price tag is it was "market determined".
"I think we talk about Rs 14 crore-Rs 16 crore but that's all market place (sic). As Yuvraj had rightly said (in Vizag), he never asked for that price," Dua said in an interview to The Times of India website.
"Would we have liked it to be Rs 16 crores? No, as a franchise I would want it to be as less as possible. But there is an opposition (rival franchises) which is there and they want the price to go up. So, as I said, it was market determined," Dua added.
DD assistant coach Pravin Amre defended Yuvraj's lack of form. He said Yuvraj did play well in a couple of matches and in T20 matches there are situations when one feels helpless.
"The hype created, especially by the social media, starts hurting a player and his conscience. You have to understand that players are also human beings. Emotions (outbursts on failure) from all sides is bound to affect a player and however big you are, you are only human. That burden does come in somewhere," Dua said.
DD will take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Raipur on Tuesday. The Daredevils surely can't qualify for the playoff stages of IPL 2015, but would be looking to play for pride now.
