New Delhi, August 14: If everything goes as per the plan, the fans can see dashing left-hander Yuvraj Singh wielding his willow again. The Punjab Cricket Association on Friday (August 14) said it has requested former India all-rounder Yuvraj to come out of retirement and become a player-cum-mentor of the state team for the upcoming domestic season but he is yet to respond.
PCA secretary Puneet Bali said he had made the request since Yuvraj, who retired in 2019, was already mentoring some players, including Shubman Gill.
"We have requested Yuvraj five, six days ago and we are waiting for his response. It will be really good for Punjab cricket if he can play and mentor them at the same time," Bali told PTI.
Last month, the 38-year-old Yuvraj spent time mentoring the likes of Gill, Anmolpreet Singh, Abhishek Sharma and Harpreet Brar, all of whom are set to play in the upcoming IPL in UAE. Yuvraj spent time with these young cricketers during a closed door session in Punjab.
Punjab has lost a number of key players in recent years and Bali said the state team can benefit from Yuvraj's experience and mentoring. The likes of Manan Vohra and Barinder Sran have been qualified to play for Chandigarh while Taruwar Kohli and Jiwanjot Singh have moved over to Meghalaya and Chattisgarh respectively.
However, coming out of retirement may not be so simple for the former cricketer. The BCCI considers players to have officially retired to provide NOCs for overseas leagues. Yuvraj has played in two such tournaments in the past year - the Global T20 Canada and Abu Dhabi T10 League.
The left-handed batsman, a key member of India's 2011 World Cup-winning team, played 40 Tests and 304 ODIs. Yuvraj was man of the series during the 2011 World Cup and had also played a key role in India's 2007 T20 World Cup win in South Africa. Yuvraj had hammered Stuart Broad, then a rookie pacer, for six sixes in an over in that tournament.