A day after India scored a scintillating victory over Australia at The Oval in the ongoing 2019 World Cup, Yuvraj Singh on Monday announced his retirement from international cricket.
The 2011 World Cup hero made the announcement after an emotional video featuring his father was played at a press conference in Mumbai.
The 37-year-old all-rounder has played 40 Tests, 304 ODIs and 58 T20I for India between 2003 and 2017, the last being an ODI against West Indies. Through his consistent performance as a big-hitter of the game, he established himself as a middle-order mainstay.
Yuvraj will always be remembered for his outstanding performance in the 2011 World Cup, when he scored 362 runs, took 15 wickets, won 4 man-of-the-match awards and was declared the Player of the Tournament, even as he battled cancer.
He was also the first all-rounder to score 300-plus runs and take 15 wickets in a single World Cup.
After treatment at Boston and Indianapolis in March 2012, he made a comeback with a 35-ball 77 in a T20 International against Australia and continued to be a huge favourite for teams in the Indian Premier League.
In the 2014 IPL, he was bought for Rs 14 crore by the RCB and went on to become the most expensive player with a bid worth Rs 16 crore by Delhi Daredevils the following year.
Yuvraj made his India debut at the age of 18 during the 2000 ICC KnockOut tournament in Kenya. He announced his arrival with a match-winning 84 knock against Australia in the quarter-final, which was his second ODI.
In 2007, Yuvraj scored the fastest fifty in 20-over cricket, as he reached half-century in just 12 balls against England. In the semi-final, he scored 70 off 30 balls against Australia and was declared Man of the Match. He also hit the longest six of the tournament (119m away).
The 6 sixes he hit in an over of Stuart Broad of England during the ICC World T20 in 2007 continue to draw loud cheer even when telecast today.
