Yuvraj Singh Aiming To Become First Indian Player To Play In BBL: Report
Sep 8, 2020 at 10:33 AM
Yuvraj Singh could be soon seen playing in Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) if everything falls in place. No Indian player has played in Australia’s premier T20 tournament so far but Yuvraj Singh is eyeing to ply his trade in the tournament.
The reason behind no Indian playing in the BBL so far is the BCCI’s stance on not issuing no-objection certificates for any other T20 league around the world. However, Yuvraj Singh is retired from both domestic and international cricket and would be free to play in foreign leagues. He had retired from international and domestic cricket last year.
Soon after retirement, he played in the Global T20 Canada as well as Abu Dhabi T10 league. And if everything goes well, he could be soon seen wielding his bat in Australia. His manager Jason Warne of W Sports & Media confirmed that Cricket Australia were interested in finding the former Indian superstar a club.
“We’re working with CA to try to find him a home,” Warne was quoted as saying by The Age on Monday.
Yuvraj Singh’s interest in the BBL comes just off the heels of former Australia international Shane Watson saying the league would benefit from the presence of Indian players. Watson, who is currently in Dubai preparing for the IPL 2020, said that the availability of Indian players would make a ‘massive difference’.
“There is a chance but no Indian players have been able to be released in the past to come and play at the [other] T20 tournaments so that’s a big hurdle,” Watson said.
“It would be incredible for them to be able to play in these tournaments. That is the ideal situation. There are so many world-class T20 players in India that aren’t playing for India that could be potentially available to play in the Big Bash and other tournaments around the world.
“If that’s able to happen, that would make a massive difference,” he added.
In his illustrious international career, Yuvraj Singh featured in 40 Tests, 304 ODIs and 58 T20Is, while also playing a pivotal role in India’s two big triumphs – the 2007 World T20 and the 2011 World Cup. He ended his career with an outstanding ODI record of 8701 runs — 22nd in the overall list, and seventh among Indians — at an average of 36.55 and 111 wickets.