Gautam Gambhir Reacts After National Hero Yuvraj Singh Announces To Come Out Of Retirement For Punjab

While Yuvraj Singh awaits BCCI's verdict on his comeback, his former teammate Gautam Gambhir told ANI that a player can't be forced to start or end his career.

Photo: AFP

Indian cricket team's former star all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, who had announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in June last year, is set to come out of retirement to stage a comeback in domestic competitions for Punjab. ALSO WATCH | Virat Kohli Repairs His Own Bat, Impressed Hardik Pandya Wants RCB Skipper's Help

The 2011 World Cup hero has written about the same to BCCI boss Sourav Ganguly and is waiting for a final word. Yuvraj will need NOCs from BCCI to come out of retirement.

The issue that Yuvraj might had to deal with is that BCCI rules suggest that a player is considered to be retired once he plays foreign leagues and Yuvraj has played in two such tournaments in the past year - the Global T20 Canada and Abu Dhabi T10 League.

While Yuvraj awaits BCCI's verdict, his former teammate Gautam Gambhir told ANI that a player can't be forced to start or end his career. "It's his personal decision and each and everyone loves seeing Yuvi play. If he wants to play for Punjab so why not? You can't force a cricketer to start or to end and if he wants to come back from retirement and play with motivation, he is most welcome," he said.

Yuvraj had been working and mentoring a highly talented pool of younsgters from Punjab which included the likes of Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh, and Anmolpreet Singh at the PCA Stadium in Mohali

Meanwhile, PCA secretary Bali also confirmed that Yuvraj is still awaiting BCCI's nod for his comeback. "The confirmation hasn't come. The PCA has accepted his comeback. But we are waiting for communication from the BCCI," Bali told IANS on Friday. As per media reports, Yuvraj is likely to play only the T20 format for Punjab if he makes a comeback to the sport post retirement.

In the past few years, Punjab has lost a number of key players to other states and PCA Secretary Punnet Bali, who re-ignited Yuvraj's inclination to stage a comeback, believes the former Indian all-rounder's addition to the team as a  player-cum-mentor will benefit Punjab.