One of India's finest-ever limited-overs batsmen, Yuvraj Singh, may not easily have things his way when it comes to his return to competitive cricket after announcing retirement last year.
The rules laid down by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) could prove a major hurdle to Yuvraj's comeback to competitive cricket.
The 38-year-old spoke to Cricbuzz and revealed that he has written to his former India captain and BCCI president, Sourav Ganguly, about his plans.
While an official response to that is awaited, a board official speaking to ANI said given that Yuvraj has already received his one-time benefit and is also getting a pension of Rs 22,500 per month as a listed retired player, there could be problems.
"Getting to spend time with someone as experienced as Yuvraj could be the best thing to happen for the young players coming into the Punjab squad. But then, he has not only received a one-time benefit post-retirement but also reportedly gets a pension of around Rs 22,500," the official said.
"These are all documented in the accounts of the BCCI as well from the time of his retirement in 2019. The final call lies with the board."
Only adding to the issues is the fact that Yuvraj has played in two foreign leagues since officially calling it quits at the international level. The 2011 World Cup-winner played for Toronto Nationals in Global T20 Canada and Maratha Arabians in T10 league.
It is well known that for an Indian player to get the NOC and feature in leagues outside his country, he has to retire from international cricket, domestic cricket and Indian Premier League (IPL).
Mumbai's Pravin Tambe was denied the chance to play for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL 2020 because he had taken part in T10 league in 2018 after retiring that year from Indian cricket. Tambe made a comeback the next year and was picked by KKR.
However, the wrist-spinner couldn't play as BCCI denied him permission, citing that he had been listed as a retired cricketer in the board's records.
Considering Tambe's case, Yuvraj will not be allowed back unless there is a change in the board's stance.
