Yuvraj Singh, Chris Gayle In Talks To Play For Melbourne-Based Mulgrave Cricket Club

Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh could be seen playing in Australia as he is reported to be in “negotiations” with a Melbourne-based community cricket club named Mulgrave Cricket Club to play cricket for them in a third-tier tournament this summer.

President of the club Malin Pullenayegam said that they are “85 to 90 percent” confirmed to have acquired the services of the Indian legend. Not only Yuvraj Singh, but, according to a report in India Today, the club is reportedly lining up have superstars like Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, and Brian Lara as well to play for them.

Mulgrave Cricket Club, which plays in Melbourne’s Eastern Cricket Association (ECA), a competition that shot into the limelight when they secured the services of former Sri Lankan cricketers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga. They have now already roped in Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya as their head coach. Dilshan, who has now settled in Melbourne, played six matches for the club last summer.

“We’ve secured Dilshan, we’ve secured Sanath, we’ve secured Tharanga. We are now working on finalizing agreements with a few other potential players. We are in negotiations, and with Chris (Gayle) and Yuvraj Singh we are nearly 85 to 90 per cent there. We need to finalize a few things but it looks really good,” Pullenayegam told cricket.com.au.

“While here we want to put them in contact with our sponsors and see if they can give something back to the club and sponsors. So it’s all part of the negotiations and chats we are having with them.”

However, the club is also looking for sponsors for the tournament for strengthening their offers to the cricketers.

“We are still looking for more sponsors to back us up, there is a fair financial commitment for a local cricket club. It’s a process, with these big-name players there’s a lot of things we need to incorporate into their visits to Australia: we’ll provide them with accommodation, their travel, food etcetera, there is a lot of background stuff we need to organise for them,” he added.

The ECA’s T20 Cup will see 3 preliminary matches before a knock-out phase of up to 3 more games, all slotted in among the one- and two-day fixtures between November and February.

Yuvraj Singh and Brian Lara both played cricket Down Under last year in February during a charity match between Ponting XI and Gilchrist XI to raise funds for Australia’s bushfire victims. The left-handed batting duo also featured in the Road Safety Series in India earlier this year.

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