Yuvraj Singh was one of the last-minute buys at the IPL auction on Tuesday and Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani felt that he was their biggest steal in the 11-year old history of the franchises.
Apart from attaining the services of Yuvraj for Rs 1 crore, the former IPL champions also bought back their former player in Lasith Malinga for his base price of Rs 2 crore.
“To be honest, we had budgeted a lot more for Yuvraj and Malinga. At Rs one crore, a player like Yuvraj is probably a (biggest) steal of 12 (sic) years. He has won every trophy there is to be won,” said Ambani told the host broadcaster of the auction.
“We focussed on experience a lot as well on the youngsters. We have identified specific roles for both of them (Yuvraj and Malinga),” he added.
Yuvraj didn’t find a buyer in the initial part of the auction but Mumbai Indians bought him the second time he went under the hammer. It would be interesting to see how Malinga and Yuvraj fit into their side.
Yuvraj was bought by a record amount of Rs 16 crore when he was bought by the Delhi Daredevils, now Delhi Capitals. But his performances since have taken do. He was picked by his home franchise Kings XI Punjab for Rs 2 crore but failed to make an impact.