Hyderabad: India's veteran batsman Yuvraj Singh announced retirement from international cricket on Monday. He last played for India in limited overs in 2017 and only played four games in this year’s Indian Premier League.
Talking about Yuvraj's cricketing journey then words are not enough to explain his massive contribution to India's T20 and ODI World Cup triumphs and his various other career achievements. He is one of the best match winner Indian cricket has ever produced.
The southpaw has not only fought against the toughest bowlers and thrashed top teams but he also battled against cancer and defeated the deadly disease.
Yuvraj has over 10,000 international runs in over 400 appearances and has been India's go-to player on numerous occasions. He has won three world cups- U-19, T20, and the ODI version.
Relive Yuvraj's cricketing journey:
He came, he saw, he conquered
- Yuvraj, who was born on Dec 12, 1981 in Chandigarh, broke into the international scene after being named the Player of the Tournament in the 2000 Under-19 World Cup held in Sri Lanka.
- Following his success in U-19 WC, Yuvraj was then immediately drafted into Team India for the ICC Champions Trophy in 2000, thus making his ODI career debut for the national side in the same year.
- He smashed a match-winning 84 in his debut against Australia in Nairobi and caught the attention of the world thereafter.
- Yuvraj played his first Test match in October 2003.
- Yuvraj has played 304 ODI matches for India, amassing 8,701 runs, including 14 tons, with an average of 36.55. His highest score is 150. He was the vice-captain of the Indian ODI team between 2007–2008.
- The all-rounder was also in the Indian squad for 58 T20I matches, scoring 1,177 runs in total, with his highest being a 77*.
- Yuvraj was considered as Team India's golden arm as he had the knack of getting crucial breakthroughs for his side. He has 111 ODI and 28 T20I wickets to his name.
- Interestingly, he was the first Indian to score a run, hit a four and hit a six and also the first to take a wicket in Twenty20 cricket. Yuvraj played for Yorkshire in the 2003 Twenty20 Cup game against Derbyshire which included India’s Mohammad Kaif, the first instance of Indians featuring in a T20 match.
- Yuvraj is the only player to score a fifty and take a 5-wicket haul in a World Cup match. He scored an unbeaten 50 and bagged 5/31 against Ireland in the 2011 World Cup in Bangalore.
- The southpaw is also famous for hitting six sixes in an over in a 2007 World Twenty20 match against England.
- Yuvraj is one of the two players to score 300+ runs and take 15+ wickets in an ODI series/tournament. He scored 362 runs and took 15 wickets in the nine matches of the 2011 World Cup.
- Yuvraj has been the only cricketer to be awarded the Man of the Series in two World Cups- U-19 and the senior version.
- In 2012, Yuvraj was conferred with the Arjuna Award, India's second highest sporting award.
- In 2014, he was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour.
The hero who won India two World Cups
- Yuvraj was the Man of the Tournament in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, and one of the top performers at the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, both of which India won.
- He accumulated an incredible 362 runs in 9 matches at a staggering average of 90.50 with one century and four half-centuries in the 2011 World Cup.
- Other than bat, Yuvraj impressed with the ball as well in the tournament as he picked up 15 wickets including two in the final played in Mumbai.
- In the T20 World Cup in 2007, Yuvraj smashed six sixes off a Stuart Broad over, leading to an incredible 12-ball half-century, which is still the quickest T20 50.
Won his biggest battle of life
- In 2011, Yuvraj's life turned completely upside down after he was diagnosed with a rare germ-cell cancer tumour located between his two lungs which was there when he was representing the country at the World Cup.
- He immediately headed to the United States after the tournament ended for chemotherapy treatment and rehabilitation.
- In March 2012, Yuvraj was discharged from hospital after completing the third and final cycle of chemotherapy. He returned to India in April.
- The southpaw made his international comeback in a Twenty20 match in September against New Zealand shortly before the 2012 World Twenty20.
All in all, Yuvraj is the perfect example of resilience and has beaten all odds to etch his name in cricket history. His journey, battles and never dying spirit will inspire many budding cricketers for years to come.
