Virender Sehwag : If Ashish Nehra can make a comeback at 36, why not Yuvraj Singh

Virender Sehwag : If Ashish Nehra can make a comeback at 36, why not Yuvraj Singh

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Virender Sehwag has voiced his support for Yuvraj Singh and suggested that he should follow Ashish Nehra’s path explaining that if Nehra can make a comeback at 36 then why not Yuvraj. He has also hinted that Kings XI Punjab can use the 'Right to Match' card to retain Glenn Maxwell and David Miller.

Yuvraj was seen playing his last international game in June last year in an ODI against the Windies. The 36-year-old was a crucial part of the Indian squad as he performed a key role in India’s campaign who won the World Cup trophy in 2011 but in the recent past the player has been witnessing a tough phase as he failed to find a place in the squad.

After facing injury problems and fitness issues, the left-handed batsman cleared the much-talked Yo-Yo test which has been made mandatory by the Indian cricket board. Considering the good supply of talent in the current squad Yuvraj’s return to the team looks to be in doubt. But the 36-year-old cricketer has found a support in the form of former cricketer Sehwag who gave him an example of Indian pacer Nehra who competed with the youngsters in the shortest format of the game and played his last T20I at the age of 38.

"I think the fans would want Punjab stars like Yuvraj and Harbhajan Singh in the Kings XI team. He's not in the Indian team, but Yuvraj is still an amazing player. His talent is intact. Even a current India player can lose form. I don't think we'll get a player like him again. If his form is good, he's a match-winner," he told TOI. 

"That's up to the selectors. If he performs in domestic cricket or passes (yoyo), then why not? If Ashish Nehra can make a comeback at 36, why not Yuvi."

Ahead of the mega-auction for the upcoming Indian Premier League, all the franchises had the authority to retain their two or three top players but Kings XI Punjab selected only one player as they retained Indian left-arm spinner Axar Patel. The 24-year-old cricketer played 38 ODIs and 10 T20I for the country claiming 45 and 9 wickets respectively. Sehwag disclosed the franchise’s planning for the auction as he stated that if they released Axar then his price could go high considering their form that is the reason they picked him and the team is planning to use 'Right to Match' card to retain Maxwell and Miller.

"We can use the 'Right to Match' card to retain Glenn Maxwell and David Miller. We felt that if Axar goes into the auction, we may have to pay much more to buy him since he's an India all-rounder. When we bought him, he was an uncapped player. Now he's such a capable player, that he's overtaken Ravindra Jadeja to be a part of the Indian One-day and T20 sides," the former Indian opener said.

In the IPL auction scheduled in Bangalore on January 27 and 28 total number of 1122 players will try their luck in the hope of becoming a part of the famous league. Sehwag picked some players who can raise the bar of the biding. 

"Ben Stokes, Dwayne Bravo, and Mitchell Starc are the international players everyone wants. I won't be surprised if Stokes goes for around $1.5 million. I expect the capped India players to fetch around Rs10-12cr too. Among the uncapped players, Krunal Pandya and Deepak Hooda would be in demand," he predicted.

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