IPL 2018: Yuvraj Singh Confirms Virender Sehwag’s Comeback
Apr 1, 2018 at 7:44 PM
Amidst speculations of Virender Sehwag making his comeback for Kings XI Punjab as a player, Yuvraj Singh has confirmed the news.
Yuvraj, a member of Kings XI Punjab, confirmed Sehwag would be in action for the first game of the league.
Here is what he wrote –
Yes @virendersehwag has been working very hard in the nets looking forward to see him play again 👊🏽
— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) April 1, 2018
Sehwag’s comeback would mean he will play his first IPL game in three years. He announced his retirement in 2015 and also decided not to play IPL. The swashbuckler played his last IPL game in the same year. He though continued to be associated with Kings XI Punjab.
Presently, he is the Mentor and Head of Cricketing Operations of Kings XI Punjab.
He will oversee the backroom staff comprising of Brad Hodge (Head Coach), Mithun Manhas (Assistant Coach), Venkatesh Prasad (Bowling coach) and a few other members of the staff.
Kings XI Punjab have a new captain this season in the form of R Ashwin. The India off-spinner was purchased by the franchise for an amount of Rs 7.60 Crore in the IPL auction.
Captaincy post though came to him as a surprise, but KXIP had limited sources to choose from for this post. Talking of Yuvraj Singh, he is making a comeback to this team after eight years. He last played for KXIP in 2010. Later, he was released by the team before 2011 IPL auction.
He went onto play for Pune Warriors XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the coming seasons. This year, he could attract just one bid, and KXIP snared him at his base price of Rs 2 Crore. Kings XI Punjab also have Chris Gayle in their ranks.
The star opener went unsold in the first two rounds of the IPL auction. It was only during the last minutes on the last day of the auction when KXIP decided to buy him at his base price. The franchise was greeted with loud cheer in the room when it decided to purchase Gayle.
Kings XI Punjab will open their IPL campaign against Delhi Daredevils in a home game on April 8.