After being picked up by Mumbai Indians for his base price of Rs 1 crore in the final round of the IPL 2019 player auction, Yuvraj Singh stressed he still has a burning desire to be play and be competitive.
“There is fire in the belly, I’m keen to be competitive,” he was quoted as saying by Mumbai Mirror. “The hunger is there, I’m not playing for the sake of playing. I am playing because I want to play and I’m passionate about playing. Hopefully in this season I will be able to deliver.”
Yuvraj, 37, went unsold in the first round of the auction before being picked by Mumbai eventually.
“There was no disappointment as such because I had an idea that I would not be picked in the first round,” he said. “The reason is obvious. When you are putting together an IPL team, you will be looking at the youngsters. I am at the stage of my career where it could be presumed that I may be in the last stages. I had hoped that there would be buyers for me in the last round.
“Somewhere within me there was a feeling that I might go to Mumbai. Frankly I am looking at an opportunity to play this year and it has come. Akash (Ambani) had some nice things to say about me and it feels good to have such confidence.
“It will also be a familiar environment for me because Zak (Zaheer Khan, director of cricket), Sachin (Tendulkar, the mentor) and Rohit (Sharma, the captain) are there. I have played a lot of cricket with them. Looking forward to playing with them again. When you have support, it motivates you to do well, it brings out the best in you.”
