IPL 2020 Auction: When RCB nearly missed out buying Yuvraj Singh for Rs. 14 cr in 2014

Former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh may not be playing international cricket anymore but his legendary status will not go anywhere, anytime soon. The stylish all-rounder made a name for himself through some spectacular performances like his 6 sixes in the World T20 2007 or his match-winning performances in India's 2011 World Cup victory. Over the years, Singh's brand in the IPL reigned heavy with teams going haywire to acquire the Indian all-rounder at the auction every year. Let us roll the clock back to 2014 when Yuvraj Singh made his way to the Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs.14 crore.

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An intense auction

Over the years, Yuvraj has played for the Kings XI Punjab, Pune Warriors India, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Mumbai Indians. In 2014, Yuvraj Singh was one of the biggest players at the auction and his chip came out of the bag in the first round. Teams battled each other as Vijay Mallya outbid everyone only to finally be introduced to a virtual last-minute bid by the Kolkata Knight Riders, which was extremely controversial. After a short bidding war with KKR, Yuvraj became a part of RCB for a massive sum of Rs. 14 crores. 

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Was it worth it?

While a lot of experts doubted RCB for their 'unnecessary' spending on Yuvraj, Yuvi ended up having his best IPL season of all time. In the 11 IPLs he played before calling it quits, Yuvraj never performed better than he did in the 2014 season. That is a statement that holds a lot of weight as the man outearned himself in the 2015 season when he went to the Delhi Capitals for Rs. 16 crores.

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In the 2014 season, Yuvraj scored 376 runs with the bat in which he made his highest IPL score of 83, scored 3 fifties, and hit 28 sixes. RCB had a fairly disappointing IPL, finishing 7th and failing to qualify for the playoffs. To the surprise of many, Yuvraj was released by the team ahead of the 2015 Auction. A lot was speculated about Yuvraj's future but his performances in 2014 were enough for the Delhi Daredevils to spend a whopping Rs. 16 crore on him. Yuvraj retired from the IPL after winning the 2019 edition with the Mumbai Indians.

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