Yuvraj Singh, the man who hit six sixes in six balls, the man who attracted the highest bids for two years, was always going to be the person of interest in the 2019 IPL auction. However, the southpaw found no bidders in the first round of the auctions, an occurrence which was unprecedented in many ways.
The left-hander, however, saw things very differently. He was quite alright with what was happening in Jaipur.
"The reason is obvious 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 was quoted by Mumbai Mirror.
Yuvraj, who was finally bought by Mumbai Indians in the final round at the base price of Rs 1 crore, said that he had this gut feeling that he would play for Mumbai this year.
'Had the feeling that I would play for Mumbai'
"Somewhere within me there was a feeling that I might go to Mumbai... frankly, I am looking for an opportunity to play this year and I am happy that it has come. Akash (Ambani) had said some nice things about me and it feels good to have such confidence," the left-handed batsman added.
Akash Ambani had claimed after the auctions that getting Yuvraj at Rs 1 crore was the biggest steal in IPL history.
Speaking about his stint with Kings XI Punjab, where he could manage only 65 runs in 8 matches, Yuvraj said that since his batting position was not fixed, he could not settle down into a role, which had a bearing on the returns.
"Agreed, that the last season was not great. But the point was I played at different positions in four-five games. I was not given one position to bat. This year I am very keen to make the best of the opportunity that will come my way," Yuvraj said.
The left-hander will enter a dressing room which will have familiar faces in Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, and Rohit Sharma and this excites him.
"It will also be a very familiar environment for me because Zak (coach Zaheer Khan), Sachin (Tendulkar, the mentor) and Rohit (Sharma, the captain) are there. I have played a lot of cricket with them. I am looking forward to playing with them again. When you have the support, it motivates you to do well, it brings out the best in you," he added.
