Yuvraj Singh wishes Deepak Hooda on 26th birthday, asks him to improve his catching

Deepak Hooda, the Baroda cricketer, is currently plying his trade in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The all-rounder is playing for the Punjab Kings (PBKS), who are placed seventh in the points table. In the batting lineup, Hooda has batted above West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran and the youngster hasn’t disappointed by any stretch of the imagination.

In the meantime, Hooda turned 26 years old on Monday, April 19 and he was showered with wishes. Former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh also had a birthday wish for Hooda. Even as he lauded Hooda for his power-hitting, he asked him to improve his catching.

In the match against the Delhi Capitals (DC) on Sunday, April 18, Hooda almost dropped a catch of Rishabh Pant. It happened in the 18th over of the Capitals’ run-chase. Fortunately, the ball didn’t pop out of his hands.

He took to Twitter and wrote, “Happy birthday to the fiery and determined youngster @HoodaOnFire! Wishing you loads of success for the IPL – keep working hard and hitting them out of the park definitely need to work on those slippery butter fingers in the outfield.”

Happy birthday to the fiery and determined youngster @HoodaOnFire! Wishing you loads of success for the IPL – keep working hard and hitting them out of the park 💪🏻👊🏻 definitely need to work on those slippery butter fingers in the outfield 🤪

— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) April 19, 2021

Deepak Hooda playing a blinder

In PBKS’s opening game against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), he scored 64 runs off 28 balls with four fours and six sixes. Hooda talked about his attacking approach after playing the whirlwind innings.

“I was just reacting to the ball and showing aggressive intent in my batting. I got this role at No. 4 and I am happy to get this role, as I bat at this position in domestic cricket. There was no dew, the ball is holding up on the wicket for a bit. The score is quite good and we should be able to defend it,” Hooda was quoted as saying.

Rahul also heaped praises on Hooda for his game-defining knock. “It was an amazing innings from Hooda, and that’s the kind of fearless batting we want to see in the IPL,“ Rahul said after the game. PBKS went on to win the match in Mumbai by four runs. Apart from that, Hooda also got scores of 10 and an unbeaten 22.