Yuvraj Singh announced his retirement on 10th June, in the middle of the World Cup, after a 19-year career in international cricket. He revolutionized the Indian cricket team with his mind-blowing achievements and was a key player who molded a new generation of Indian cricketers.
His career is highlighted by the part he played in India’s global achievements like the T20 cricket match of 2007, for which he was awarded ‘the player of the tournament’ trophy in 2011. We would like to take a trip down the memory lane to commemorate his achievements.
Tracing down his game
Yuvraj Singh, as a cricketer, let the world know his mettle in 2002 when he scored an impressive 69 runs out of 63 balls at the Lord’s NatWest Series final. He was hailed as a masterpiece since then.
In 2004, he scored 139 runs in Sydney, against Australia, which was unheard of before. In 2007 World T20, which was the most memorable moment of his career, it was announced that he had scored six sixes against England’s Stuart Broad in a single over. He was the only player after Herschelle Gibbs to score this at an international match.
The trivia
Unfortunately, he dropped out of the team in 2010 but made a comeback for the World Cup in 2011. He won four “man of the match” titles, scored 362 runs and bagged 15 wickets, and was even hailed as the Player of the Series. It was an unthinkable achievement and he was praised all across India for his herculean achievements.
However, in 2012, he was diagnosed with a rare cell cancer. After a long, intense struggle, he returned to the field in the same year and played his last test matches.
He spoke about his reason for retiring on the Stumped podcast broadcasted by BBC. While he was playing for India in 2017, it was already clear to him that he was not physically and mentally optimal for the rigors of the game. He got emotional looking at the highlights of his career and is proud of what he has established with it.
The man himself
He said international cricket tends to include a lot of stress, and now he would like to continue playing cricket, but not professionally. He talks about how special test cricket was to him. In his first Test match, he scored a hundred when India was ‘120 for 7’. He believes that, and winning the Test series in England in 2007 were inspiring moments in his life and career. He says the most humanizing moment in his life was being diagnosed right at the peak of his career. It was a time of conflict and pain, but he explains that these were the highs and lows that he would look back on and cherish.
He had played 40 Test matches in total, which is undoubtedly a healthy and enriched legacy. He had made three centuries, all of them were against Pakistan. The people will remember his contribution to the sport, along with the emotions felt during his diagnosis, and the charity foundation he had established soon after. An era of cricketing has come to an end with Yuffie’s retirement, one that both the fans and the cricketers can look back on fondly.
