Once IPL’S biggest draw, Yuvraj grapples with diminishing returns

MUMBAI : Yuvraj Singh, who played a key role in fashioning India’s 2011 ODI World Cup triumph and was adjudged Player of the Tournament, is struggling for runs in the ongoing Indian Premier League.

The dashing left-hander, who once smashed Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over during the 2007 World T20 in South Africa, has hit only two maximums in seven matches for Kings XI Punjab this season.

Against Mumbai Indians on Friday, Yuvraj failed again, scoring 14 off as many balls before getting run out.

His tournament strike rate of 91.42 has earned him an unwanted record of having the worst strike rate for any player, who has played 50 or more balls in the ongoing IPL.

Friday’s match turned out to be a forgettable outing for his team as well. Batting first, Kings XI Punjab put on 174/6 with Chris Gayle slamming a halfcentury. However, Mumbai Indians rode a blistering fifty from Suryakumar Yadav and cameos from Krunal Pandya and Rohit Sharma to romp home by six wickets.

Yuvraj’s poor form puts a question mark on Kings XI’S decision to shell out ~2 crore for him in the mega auctions earlier this year. It would be interesting to see if the franchise keeps him in the XI for the remaining matches.