Yuvraj Singh announces retirement from international cricket
2011 World Cup Man of the Tournament and Indian cricket legend Yuvraj Singh finally announced his retirement from international cricket on June 10. The 37-year-old, who recently won the IPL with Mumbai Indians has played 40 Test matches, 304 ODIs, and 58 T20Is in his 19-year-long career.
The explosive southpaw had inspired an entire generation with his aggressive batting and mind blowing fielding since his international debut against Australia in 2000 when he hit 84 runs in 80 balls. Though he took some time to be a regular in the first team, he shone whenever he was given a chance.
In a press briefing in Mumbai, the batsman said, “I have decided to move on.”
A huge highlight of his career was the 2002 Natwest series decided where India had to a chase mammoth target if 326. With the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid all failing, the young guns Yuvraj and Mohammad Kaif took up the responsibility and ensured a historical victory. He forged a 121-run partnership with Mohammad Kaif, hitting 69 off 63 balls in the match that sealed his place in the ODI team for a long time to come.
The nation saw a peak Yuvraj in the 2011 World Cup where he tallied 362 runs scoring one century and four fifties alongside taking 15 wickets to win four Man-of-the-Match awards, and eventually the Player of the Tournament.
There were prior reports that stated that Yuvraj had decided to quit international cricket to pursue a freelance career in the ICC approved foreign Twenty20 leagues.