Not for nothing cricket or for that matter any sport is considered a great leveler. Yuvraj Singh, who played an instrumental role in fashioning India’s 2011 ODI World Cup triumph and was adjudged player of the tournament, is struggling for every single run in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).
The dashing southpaw, who once smashed Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over during the 2007 World T20 in South Africa, has so far hit only two maximums in seven matches for Kings XI Punjab.
In Kings XI’s match against Mumbai Indians on Friday, Yuvraj failed once again, scoring only 14 off 14 balls before getting run out. At the end of the match, Yuvraj’s numbers in the league read- 7 matches, 5 innings, 64 runs, average-12.80, strike rate- 91.42, highest score -20.
His tournament strike rate of 91.42 has now earned him an unwanted record of having the worst strike rate for any player, who has played 50 or more balls in the ongoing IPL.
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Friday’s match turned out to be a forgettable outing for his team as well. Batting first Kings XI Punjab put on 174/6 with Chris Gayle slamming a half-century. However, Mumbai Indians rode on a blistering fifty from Suryakumar Yadav and a couple of handy cameos from Krunal Pandya and Rohit Sharma to romp home with six wickets and one over to spare.
Yuvraj’s poor form puts a big question mark on Kings XI’s decision to shell out Rs 2 crore for him in the mega auction earlier this year. It would be interesting to see if the Punjab-based franchise continues to keep him in the playing XI in the remaining matches.
