India stalwart Yuvraj Singh announces retirement from international cricket and IPL

Sudhir Gupta 17:03 10/06/2019
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  • Yuvraj Singh has called curtains on his international career.

    Veteran batsman Yuvraj Singh had announced his decision to retire from international cricket as well as the Indian Premier League (IPL) in a press conference held at Mumbai on Monday.

    The left-handed batsman played 40 Tests, 304 ODIs and 58 T20Is for India in a 17-year long international career with his last appearance coming against the West Indies in June, 2017.

    Yuvraj is considered to be one of the finest limited-overs all-rounders produced by India with the southpaw going on to make major contributions towards the team’s triumph in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 as well as the 2011 ICC World Cup.

    “After 25 years, in and around 22 yards, and after almost 17 years of international cricket on and off, I have decided to move on,” Yuvraj said.

    “I am extremely lucky to play 400+ games for India, I for one, would have not imagined doing this when I started my career as a cricketer.

    “Through this journey, some matches that remain etched in my memory were the 2002 NatWest final, my first test hundred in Lahore in 2004, the 2007 ODI series in England, six sixes at the 2007 T20 World Cup, that match when we realised to have not gone beyond at 2007 50-over World Cup and then the most memorable was 2011 World Cup finals.”

    While the left-hander’s exploits of smashing six sixes in a single Stuart Broad over in the 2007 World Twenty20 will long be remembered, his crowning achievement as an all-rounder came in the 2011 World Cup on home soil where he picked up 15 wickets and scored 362 runs to finish as the man-of-the-series.

    “Winning the 2011 World Cup, being Man of the Series, four Man of the Match awards, was all like a dream, which was followed by a harsh reality, getting diagnosed with cancer,” he stated.

    “It was like touching the sky and then falling down at light speed and hitting the ground hard. All this happened so quickly, and that too when I was at the peak of my career.

    “But in that moment, everyone to whom I mattered, stood together for me – my fans, my friends, my family.”

    The 37-year-old has also ended his association with the IPL as a player after turning out for Mumbai Indians in the 2019 edition.

    Since making his ODI debut in the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy, Yuvraj went on to score 8,701 runs in 304 ODIs while picking up 111 wickets with the ball.

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