MUMBAI: Having made clear that his innings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is done and dusted post his retirement from all forms of the game, Yuvraj Singh is all set to be the first active Indian cricket superstar to ply his wares in ICC-recognised international Twenty20 leagues.
Yuvraj, 37, said that at this stage of his career he is ready to play some “fun” cricket and enjoy life.
“I want to play T20 cricket. At this age I can manage to play some kind of fun cricket. I want to go and enjoy my life. It’s been too stressful just thinking about my international career, performing and big tournaments like the IPL,” said Yuvraj at a media conference announcing his retirement here Monday.
“Now I would like to enjoy myself. With BCCI’s permission I would like to go and play. Just have fun for this year and maybe next year, whatever is left in me.
“It’s been a very long and hard journey and I think I deserve that,” said Yuvraj who hit four half-centuries and a century, while also picking up 15 wickets on his way to the Man of the Tournament in the 2011 World Cup as India won cricket’s biggest prize for the second time after 1983.
And just as Yuvraj went for a record Rs 160 million to the Delhi Daredevils franchise during IPL 2015, expect the left-hander to set new benchmarks in the price he pulls from whichever international league/s he chooses to play in.
What that price will be remains to be seen, but it will without doubt be far higher than the Rs 10 million the Mumbai Indians paid for his services for this year’s IPL.
“He has not yet written to the board and once he does that, then only we can consider his case. But since he will not be playing the IPL, there is little ground for not giving him the permission. Retired players of his stature have been allowed to play outside India,” a BCCI official told PTI.
The BCCI has barred active players from taking part in overseas T20 leagues and that is one of the reasons Yuvraj considered retirement to make himself available for competitions around the world.
Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan, who had retired from international cricket, were allowed to be part of the T10 League in the UAE.
“If Sehwag can play overseas after retirement, I don’t see an issue with Yuvraj doing the same. He is a retired player now and his contribution to Indian cricket is immense and should be valued always,” said another BCCI official.
Last month, Irfan Pathan became the first Indian player to be included in the Caribbean Premier League draft though he remains an active first-class player and did not take prior permission from the BCCI.
The BCCI had also withdrawn his brother Yusuf’s NOC for participation in a Hong Kong T20 tournament two years ago.
The stylish left-hander, who has played over 300 ODIs for the country — also helping India win the inaugural World T20 in 2007 with a blast of six sixes in a Stuart Broad over — captained Kings XI Punjab and the now defunct Pune Warriors. He also represented Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“Last year only I had thought that this year’s IPL will be my last,” he said. “I am not available for IPL. I have retired from BCCI and international cricket.
“I was confused with my career and how I would end it. I would have been satisfied if I could have played more games in IPL 2019, would have been happy to leave the sport with that.
“But you don’t get everything in life. I had decided last year that this IPL would be my last and I’ll give it my best shot,” said the stylish southpaw, who has scored 2750 runs in 132 IPL matches at a strike rate of 129.71.
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