IPL's beloved, again

With Yuvraj Singh attracting the highest price at the IPL auction for the second season running, the author evaluates his real worth

My reputation, Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw once said, grows with every failure. So does Yuvraj Singh's. After triggering a bidding-war among some of the top teams during the player auction for the 2015 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at a swish Bengaluru hotel earlier this week, Singh went back home Rs 16 crore richer, and rather unfathomably, with his reputation as one of the country's marquee matchwinners intact.

Delhi Daredevils splashed out the exorbitant amount for the capricious all-rounder from Punjab - the highest ever for a player in the seven-year history of the league. Exactly a year ago, Singh had fetched an equally handsome Rs 14 crore. It was Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) that broke the bank to get him to wear its red and gold, ironically, at a time, when RCB owner Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines was rapidly plunging into financial turmoil.

In the 14 matches he played last season, Singh scored 376 runs at an average of 34.18 - every run he scored cost RCB roughly Rs 3.72 lakh. He was only the seventh most value-for-money player in the league season, a list that was topped by Australia's Glenn Maxwell. In comparison to Singh, the hard-hitting Aussie's 552 runs from 16 matches cost Kings XI Punjab a little under Rs 1.10 lakh per run. There is no doubt that in his heyday, Singh was one of the most feared batsmen around. Devastating with the bat and wily with the ball, the southpaw was instrumental in leading India to two World Cup triumphs. But with age catching up (he is 33 now), the feet do not move the way they once did, the razor sharp reflexes have gone lethargic and the electric pace across the field has vanished. So often now, he is just a pale shadow of the wonderful cricketer he once was.

So with Singh's star waning and age not on his side, why are teams still willing to invest so heavily in him? According to Hemant Dua, chief executive officer, Delhi Daredevils, Singh still has it in him to make an impact in the shortest format of the game. "Heading into the auction, he was our primary target. He is a multi-utility player, terrific with the bat, ball and in the field. He is worth the money," says Dua.

Former Indian World Cup-winning all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath agrees. "Everybody is saying that Singh is finished. I don't agree. What makes him special is that he is a game-changer, both with the bat and ball. He still has loads to offer,"he says.

A quick glance at the Daredevils roster will tell you why the franchise went all out to get him. A squad that suffers from a dearth of competent matchwinners, and with most of the other big Indian players not available for sale, Singh was the only top name in the fray. He can still change the course of a match with a blistering knock or a sneaky piece of bowling, but it is difficult to imagine how he warrants such a high salary in the current circumstances.

Dua says that he was surprised by the fact that RCB pushed them all the way, in spite of releasing Singh only last year, after a somewhat lustreless season by his high standards. "All of us were bemused. We were not expecting the fight to go down to the wire. Maybe RCB feel that they made a mistake by letting him go," he adds.

Beyond his potential to swing matches, there are other reasons why Singh's presence demands such high monetary commitment. For one, the Daredevils' need of a north-centric face for their franchise led them on a relentless pursuit for Singh. "Ever since we let go of Virender Sehwag, our team has lacked a face hailing from the northern region of the country," concedes Dua. Singh will fill that void. "He can connect well with the fans and add great brand value to our franchise."

And because IPL is as much a commercial venture as a sporting event, Singh's cult status in Indian cricket transfers itself to the team he plays for. Varun Gupta, managing director (India), American Appraisal, the company that, earlier this year, valued IPL as a brand, says that Singh's connect with the fans is unmistakable. "He has played some great innings for India. He is an icon. People look up to him," he says. Gupta says that he hopes the all-rounder comes good this season, but admits that the decision to buy him for such an enormous amount is primarily brand-driven. Delhi Daredevils need him as much off the field in the merchandise stalls as they need him to perform on the field.

Ever since being signed by Kings XI Punjab in the first season as their icon player, Singh has only enjoyed moderate success in the tournament. In fact, more than the bat, it was the ball with which he did a lot of damage, picking up two hattricks for the Punjab outfit. After two unremarkable seasons with his home franchise, where the team, under him, struggled to keep pace with the other big teams, he was snapped up by Pune Warriors India. Under his captaincy, the Warriors could only finish second from bottom.

Singh hasn't played a match for the national team since India's loss to Sri Lanka in last year's ICC T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, a tournament in which his downward spiral in the Indian team became painfully evident. In a group game against the West Indies, India needed one run off the final over with ample wickets in hand. The Singh of old would have stepped out and smashed it. Instead, he prodded at Marlon Samuels's non-turning, innocuous off-spin for the first three balls and then made his exit on the fourth. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, sitting in the dug-out, pads on, a frown written large on his otherwise phlegmatic face, had clearly seen enough.

When some overzealous fans suggested that Singh be picked for the World Cup, the sane cricket mind struggled to comprehend why. We all know Singh is special, maybe too special for his own liking. Often in the past, he has been his own enemy, a victim of his own prodigious talent. Cricket is game of big numbers. Delhi Daredevils have done their bit by spending lavishly big, it's now up to Singh to prove them right.