Yuvraj Singh likely to make his IPL 2016 debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Gujarat Lions tonight

Sunrisers Hyderabad all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, who has recovered from an ankle injury, is all set to make his debut for the team against Gujarat Lions in Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International cricket stadium today.

The veteran cricketer had injured his ankle in a game against Australia during the World T20 group-stage game earlier this year and has not played since then. SRH's coach Tom Moody confirmed that Yuvraj was ready to be selected for the match against GL.

"He (Yuvraj Singh) is available. When we finalise our XI, he is very much in our thoughts," he said in the pre-match press conference on Thursday. He also added that the inclusion of Yuvraj Singh would be a boost, as his experience can be put to use for both batting and bowling.

SRH won their previous game against Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 30, after skipper David Warner (92 off 50) and Kiwi batsman Kane Williamson (50 off 38) put on a stupendous show.

Moody also said that SRH would concentrate on putting up a competitive show rather than focusing on how their rival teams are performing in the tournament. "We watched all those matches. Everyone gets caught up wanting to see how other teams are performing, how other individuals are performing.

“But, at the end of the day, there is no point of striving about what other teams are doing on the table”, he said.

"It's important what we do. We got good run of games now. We got good rest. The guys are fresh and up. It's fairly now in our hands how we play the second half of this competition. SRH would be well prepared as it faces GL, who are also at the top of the table, and home side takes confidence that it won in the previous match between the two," he added.

Calling SRH's latest bowling bigwig Mustafizur Rahman a "wonderful guy", Moody said that the communication is not much of a problem, though there is a language barrier. The Bangladesh bowler was bought for Rs. 1.4 crores by the franchise in the IPL auctions this year.

"He is a wonderful guy. He has fitted into the group very well. He is a good character. He has good personality. He is a funny guy.

"To be fair, I think there has been a beat up about the fact that there is a language barrier. He is not fluent in English. At the end of day, we manage to communicate what needs to be communicated. Cricket is a pretty universal language."

SRH are currently fifth on the points table, winning four out of the seven games they have played. Gujarat Lions are comfortably seated on the second position, with 12 points from nine games.