Yuvraj Singh is a great investment for Mumbai Indians: Zaheer Khan

Mumbai Indians (MI), the three-time champions of the prestigious Indian Premier League (IPL), didn’t have a memorable season by any means last time around as they bowed out before the playoffs. In the auction, which took place a couple of days ago in Jaipur, the Rohit Sharma-led franchise bought the services of seven players, one of them was veteran all-round cricketer Yuvraj Singh.

After being released by Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), the 37-year-old was listed in the auction at a base price of INR 1 crores, but he found no buyers in the first instance. However, Mumbai picked him up in the second round. Recently, former Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan, who was recently appointed as the franchise’s director, mentioned that Yuvraj is a massive investment for them.

We were very clear what we needed

“We always wanted an experienced middle-order batsman to guide our team. That’s why we were bidding aggressively for Hanuma Vihari as well, who has plenty of domestic experience if not international matches under his belt. Yuvraj gave us the best of everything. He comes with vast experience and is a devastating T20 batsman as well. So, I think we made a great investment in him,” Zaheer told Cricket Next.

Apart from Yuvraj, Mumbai also managed to rope in Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga at his base price of INR 2 crore. Malinga has played for MI ever since the 2009 season and is currently the leading wicket-taker (154) in the cash-rich tournament. Zaheer also mentioned how they decided to bring in Malinga into the scheme of things, bearing in mind his rich vein of form.

“We were very clear what we needed from the auction. Mumbai Indians wanted to build a squad that could win them a championship again. (Lasith) Malinga played the role of coach for us last year but he is still the highest wicket-taker in IPL. When we found out he was in form and bowling well, it was easy to pick Malinga to not only lead our attack but also mentor the young bowlers,” he added.

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