Yuvraj Singh, The Prince of Cricket Retired Recently

We have seen many amazing cricket players come up and down the field in these few years. But few have made a mark like Yuvraj Singh. The boy who made a scintillating debut in the Natwest, the player-of-the-tournament in India’s triumphant 2011 World Cup campaign, announced a new beginning for his life as he informed about  his retirement from the game here on Monday. Yuvraj has featured in 23 domestic seasons and will be remembered as one of the most skilful white-ball cricketers. This unforgettable performance against England took Yuvraj on top of the pile of fastest fifties in a T20I match, scoring 50 in just 12 balls, a record that has stood the test of time.

He gave the Indian team a new found hope they never had. As time passed, Yuvraj became an established middle-order linchpin for the Indian team, which initially used to despair after the fall of the top order like Sachin, and a man with a golden arm too. He was one of the jewels that made the Indian team what it was during Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy.

Not only that , he proved his grit and determination by still playing while having advanced stage cancer and then beating the disease to come back to the game with a bang. Life has been hard for Yuvraj Singh. But he definitely has never given up. The best testimony of his accomplished all-round abilities was the 2011 50-over World Cup, where Yuvraj became the first all-rounder to score 300-plus runs and take 15 wickets in a single edition of the tournament. Not to forget , his six  consecutive sixes were one of the most amazing scenes ever seen.

The feat included four MoM awards and Man-Of-The-Tournament for the 362 runs and 15 wickets. Yuvraj Singh stood proudly with all the other greats and stood his ground.

The architect of India’s two ICC titles over the last decade, Yuvraj hopes to continue plying his trade in franchise overseas leagues for the next few years. He also didnt want the courtesy farewell game that he could have gotten.

“I was told that if you are not able to pass the Yo-Yo test, I would get a farewell game. I did not tell anyone in the BCCI that I have to play the last match,” he said.

“If I was good enough, I would have retired on the ground. I don’t like to ask for a game, I have never played the game with that mindset, so I told them I don’t want a farewell game, if I don’t clear the Yo-Yo test, I will quietly head back home. I cleared the test and then, rest is not my call.” The effervescent player has now decided to focus on underprivileged children and cancer affected patients.

No matter what , Yuvraj Singh will always be the swashbuckling cricketer we admired and hope to emulate , on the field and off the field too!