Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2018: Harbhajan, Yuvraj Available for Punjab; Raina for UP

The duo of Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh are available for Punjab for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Zonal League, which starts on January 7.

Both the players were part of the side in Ranji Trophy as well but played a total of three games. While Yuvraj played just one game, Harbhajan played in two contests. Harbhajan got appointed as the captain with Yuvraj as his deputy.

Both of them are expected to play in the full Zonal, and the interzonal league, as performance in these two tournaments will be a key for them to get a buyer in the IPL auction.

First talking of Harbhajan, he was not retained by Mumbai Indians on the auction day. Instead, the three players to be kept by MI were Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah. Harbhajan had been associated with the franchise since the inception of the league. However, Mumbai can use an RTM card on him, which will subject to Bhajji’s form in the domestic league.

Yuvraj, on the other hand, have two aims to fulfil, i.e. firstly to make a comeback in the national team, and secondly to get a buyer in auction.

He had recently cleared the yo-yo test, and he will make a comeback in India T20 side for South Africa tour if he does well in the tournament. A good performance can also see Yuvraj getting a huge price in the auction.

Punjab selectors though are yet to announce the squad but apart from them, Siddharth Kaul, Manpreet Gony are a few of the automatic selections in the team. Leg-spinner, Rahul Sharma can also make a comeback to the team.

Suresh Raina is available for Uttar Pradesh –

Suresh Raina will turn up for Uttar Pradesh in the T20 league and might also lead the side. He has already joined the team’s practice session under new coaches, Sujith Somasunder and Mansur Ali Khan.

UPCA is expected to retain Raina as a captain despite his poor show in Ranji Trophy where team could not win even a single game. On personal front too, Raina failed and could just manage 105 runs.

However, just like Yuvraj, he will be in contention to be selected in India T20I side if he does well in the tournament as he has also cleared the yo-yo test. Performance in this tournament can see both Yuvraj and Raina making it to the T20I side.

In the latest news, Raina was one of three players to be retained by Chennai Super Kings. He was the second preference of the franchise. Raina holds a unique record of playing all the games which CSK have played in the history of IPL.

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