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Yuvraj had been the skipper for the Punjab franchise in 2008 and 2009 season. In the 2008 season, KXIP had a fantastic year but they lost the semifinals.
There was a time when every franchise would chunk out big bucks at the IPL auctions for Yuvraj Singh. In 2014, Royal Challengers Bangalore purchased him for INR 14 crore. At the time, this was the highest bid any player had received. In the next auction, Yuvi received a bid of INR 16 crore by Delhi Daredevils, setting a new record. One thing which the 38-year-old never had was a long stint with one franchise.
Through the years in IPL, Yuvraj kept moving from one franchise to another. For the first three seasons, he was with Kings XI Punjab. Then he was with Pune Warriors India for 2011 and 2013 season. He played 4 more teams Bangalore (2014), Delhi (2015), Sunrisers Hyderabad (2016 and 2017) and Mumbai Indians (2019). In a recent interview, the flamboyant batsman revealed his disappointment of not playing for a single franchise for more than a few years.
“I never got a chance to play for 3-4 years for one franchise team. Virat (Kohli), (MS) Dhoni, Rohit (Sharma) have played for the same franchise team for many years. You get a base, but I have never been able to get a permanent place” stated Yuvraj Singh told during the interview by Times Now.
Rohit Sharma has been with Mumbai Indians since 2011 while Virat Kohli is the only player to have played all the seasons until now for one franchise. MS Dhoni has actually been with Chennai Super Kings since 2008. He had played for Rising Pune Super Giant, in the 2 seasons where CSK were banned.
Talking about his experience of playing at the Kings XI Punjab, the ex-cricketer revealed that he felt like running away from the franchise. Yuvraj had been the captain for the Kings XI Punjab in 2008 and 2009 season. The 2008 season had a terrific year but KXIP lost in the semifinals.
Speaking on his time at the franchise, the Punjab player said he didn’t have the control over the team as a captain should have. He also explained that he enjoys playing for Punjab but representing the franchise didn’t make him happy.
“There was a place from where I wanted to run away, it was Kings XI Punjab. Whenever I asked for a player, they did not give it to me. It is also amazing that when I left, they bought all those players. I was just the captain on the team for the sake of it. I loved playing for Punjab, but I wanted to run away from that franchise”, Yuvraj stated.
