Yuvraj hopes for rain-free comeback

Indian cricket fans awaited the return of star batsman Yuvraj Singh on Tuesday who was set to make his delayed comeback following cancer treatment in a Twenty20 game against New Zealand.

The 30-year-old's scheduled return was ruined by bad weather last Saturday in Visakhapatnam where rain washed out the game and disappointed a capacity crowd of 27,000.

Yuvraj underwent chemotherapy in the United States in March and April to treat a rare tumour between his lungs, but has since trained hard to be back in shape for the national side.

The left-hander is hoping the weather stays clear at the Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on Tuesday night to allow him to ease into international cricket ahead of next week's World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.

"We need to get some games in before the World Twenty20," Yuvraj was quoted as saying by local media.

The left-hander, who was man of the tournament in India's World Cup triumph last year, was recalled to the Twenty20 side despite not having played competitive cricket since November.

Yuvraj, who has nearly 1.5 million followers on Twitter, wrote on the microblogging website that he felt sorry for the fans in Visakhapatnam but he had been touched by their reaction.

"I took a lap and everyone cheered for me. Was a bit emotional," he wrote in a message to Australian spin legend Shane Warne.

If Tuesday's match is also interrupted by rain, both India and New Zealand will have just two warm-up games in Colombo to tune up for the World Twenty20 that opens on September 18.

India won the preceding two-match Test series against the Black Caps.