Yuvraj Singh: A triumph of Indian cricket

With the retirement of Yuvraj Singh comes the end of an era. The emotional out-pour of the fans on social media takes us back to the innumerable special moments that the Prince of Cricket has gifted the country and the Indian fans, including his World Cup-winning innings.

“After 25 years in and around the 22 yards and almost 17 years of international cricket on and off, I have decided to move on,” said Singh, who announced his retirement from all formats of the sport on Monday (June 10).

One of the finest batsmen ever to have played limited overs cricket, Yuvi came into limelight during the ICC Knockout Tournament in 2000 in Nairobi, Kenya when he helped India reach the final by smashing 84 against Australia in 80 balls. This marked his debut and he went on to play 40 Tests, 304 One-Day Internationals and 58 Twenty20 Internationals.

A nail-biting partnership

2002 added laurels to his career when none of the top order batsmen such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly could contribute much in chasing a target of 356 in the Natwest series. His partnership of 121 runs with Mohammad Kaif ensured victory of the team. While Yuvraj hit 69 off 63 balls, Kaif scored an unbeaten 87. This proved Yuvraj’s will to take a match to its logical end even under pressure.

His crowning glory came in 2011 when he scored 362 runs and took 15 wickets to help India win the World Cup. A person who was scared of trying his hands on cricket was named the Player of the 2011 World Cup and one of the top performers at the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, both of which India won.

Also read: Yuvraj Singh retires: A 19-year illustrious career draws to a close

Spinning wickets

He explained that he’s had a love-hate relationship with the game that taught him to fight and never give up. Yuvraj, in 2011, was diagnosed with a malignant tumour in his left lung. But as cricket taught him, he didn’t give up and fought just to make his international comeback in a Twenty20 match in September against New Zealand, where he hit 34 runs in 26 balls, shortly before the 2012 World Twenty20.

He was also awarded a Porsche 911 in 2007 by the vice president of BCCI after his stellar performances in the ICC World T20. Audi presented a Q5 to Yuvraj for his all-round performances in the 2011 World Cup.

Also read: Stuart Broad bids adieu to Yuvraj, reminds fans of his six sixes

Charismatic catches

The impact of his battle with cancer never portrayed in his cricketing skills but he intrigued him to launch his own NGO ‘YouWeCan’ in September 2012 meant to fight cancer by spreading awareness about the fatal disease. YouWeCan has now reached a milestone of treating over hundreds of cancer patients. He also focused on donating smiles to cancer-affected children.

Yuvraj Singh, after his battle with Cancer, penned down his autobiography titled: The Test of My Life: From Cricket to Cancer and Back in 2013, dedicating all he’s ever had to his father who pushed him to play cricket and the sport itself.

Direct stump hits

Not many people know that Yuvi was a was an ardent fan of tennis and roller skating. He was so good at his chosen craft, roller skating, that he won the National U-14 Roller Skating Championship. But it was his father who after throwing his National level medal, asked him to focus only on cricket.

That’s one of the best things ever happened to Indian cricket as he would be remembered as a player who made batting in an international cricket look effortless.

Also read: Yuvraj — The man who oscillated back and forth, both in life and cricket

Tale of the iconic ‘six sixes in six balls’

A knock no cricket fan could ever forget was Yuvraj Singh smashing England’s Stuart Broad with six consecutive sixes in an over in the 2007 inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa. This was a tournament which India went on to win and became a stepping stone for the team to clinch 2011 World Cup title after 28 years.

Yuvraj Singh’s 11,000 international runs and 148 international wickets in 402 international matches across all formats of the sport relived through the awe-moments mark the end of an era with his retirement. However, he has confirmed that he will be pursuing a freelance career in ICC approved foreign Twenty20 leagues.

Also watch: ‘It’s time to move on,’ says Yuvraj Singh as he retires