December 12, 1981, Chandigarh, Punjab. Yograj Singh Bhundel and his wife Shabnam were blessed with a baby boy. Amidst the tumbling cricket career of Yograj, little did he know that his son will end up being one of the greatest limited overs batsman India will ever produce! He named his son, Yuvraj!
Yuvraj as a kid, had his heart towards Tennis and Roller Skating. He had won the National Under – 14 Roller Skating Championship. Post that, he went home and proudly showed his medal to his father like every other kid would do. But to his surprise, his father threw the medal away and told him to focus on cricket. Probably, injury ending his career in cricket had a major role to play in such harsh attitude of his. He didn’t want his son to fail. He himself used to take Yuvraj for training every day.
Yuvraj started his cricket career as a 13 year old in Punjab’s Under – 16 team in the 1995 – 96 season. He debuted against J&K Under – 16s. Later in the 1996 – 97 season he was promoted to the Under – 19 team and he scored 137 not out against Himachal Pradesh Under – 19s.
Yuvraj made his first class debut in the Ranji trophy season of 1997 – 98. Unfortunately, he was dismissed for a duck in his debut first class game. Yuvraj’s first eye catching performance came in the Cooch Behar Trophy against Bihar at Jamshedpur. After bowling out Bihar for 357, Punjab scored a mammoth 832 with Yuvraj Singh scoring 358. A run more than the entire team total of Bihar.
Post his impressive performance in the Cooch Behar Trophy, Yuvraj received a call for the India Under – 19 team. He made his India Under – 19 debut against Sri Lanka and scored a quick – fire 89 of 55 balls in the third ODI. He was later picked up by the selectors for the Under – 19 World Cup held in the year 2000 in Sri Lanka. A tournament which India won under the captaincy of Mohammad Kaif, was set ablaze by Yuvraj Singh. He scored half century a piece in a group stage encounter against New Zealand and in the all important semi final against Australia. He even picked up 4 wickets for 36 runs in the game against New Zealand. Owing to his brilliant performances, Yuvraj was selected in 2000 for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy, Bengaluru.
Yuvraj got the most awaited Team India call in the year 2000 for the ICC KnockOut Trophy held in Kenya. He made his international debut against Kenya on October 3, 2000 in the pre quarter final match of the tournament but didn’t get a chance to bat. In the quarter final against Australia, Yuvraj announced his arrival in the international arena by scoring 84 runs in 80 balls and winning the Man of the Match award for his match winning knock! He contributed well with 41 crucial runs in the semi final against South Africa.
Later followed a tri series between India, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. Yuvraj failed miserably in this tournament. He scored just 55 runs in 5 innings at an average of 11. In December 2000, Zimbabwe toured India and Yuvraj failed yet again as he averaged just 15.5 in the series. As a result, he was dropped from the team.
He made a comeback in 2001 in Coca Cola Cup in Sri Lanka with a 98 not out against the hosts. He even picked up 8 wickets in the tournament at a good average of 27. In another following triangular series, Yuvraj failed to make his mark and was able to score just 69 runs in 6 innings. He was once again dropped from the side and the likes of Dinesh Mongia and Hemang Badani were selected ahead of Yuvraj.
Yuvraj came back to the domestic arena to brush up on his skills and struck a blissful 209 for North Zone in Duleep Trophy. He was immediately called up for the final two ODIs of the series against Zimbabwe in which India were trailing 1-2. This time around, Yuvraj made sure that he makes the most of this opportunity. He scored 80 off just 60 deliveries. He continued his brilliant form in the final ODI of the series and scored 75 off 52.
These performances made sure that Yuvraj was on the flight to England for the Natwest Trophy 2002. This is the series where Yuvraj cemented his place in the Indian ODI side. Who would forget that final at Lord’s? Two young guns, Yuvraj and Kaif took India home and what followed was the grand T-shirt celebration by Sourav Ganguly! Yuvraj had decent scores of 64, 31, 40, 37 and the all important 69 in the final which ensured India a famous and historic victory!
There was no looking back for Yuvraj after this. Even after a few inconsistent performances in the latter half of 2002, he booked his berth to South Africa for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003. He made valuable contributions in crunch games against Pakistan (50*), England (42) and Sri Lanka (58*). Although India reached the final of the tournament, they were not able to carve their name on the trophy.
Yuvraj scored his maiden ODI century in the year 2003 with a graceful 102 not out off just 85 balls against Bangladesh in Dhaka. In the same year, Yuvraj became only the second Indian after Sachin Tendulkar to be signed by Yorkshire County Cricket Club for the 2003 season.
Yuvraj Singh gave a lot of commendable performances over the years to come. The most memorable one came in the 2007 World T20 held in South Africa when he smashed Stuart Broad for 6 sixes in an over. It was a result of a verbal spat with Andrew Flintoff. He carried on his form in the semi final against Australia in which he scored 70 runs off just 30 balls.
In the series between India and England, which was called off due to 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks, Yuvraj Singh was in top form. He had scored back to back centuries (138 off 78) and (118 of 122) in the first two ODIs.
Fast forward 3 years, the 2011 World Cup was around the corner and India were hot favourites to lift the trophy. India came in with a formidable squad led by MS Dhoni. Yuvraj Singh was looked up as the middle order mainstay of the Indian side. In the discussion of all the ifs and buts, one thing which went unnoticed was Yuvraj Singh’s health.
Yuvraj started the tournament with a bang! He created history in the game against Ireland. He became the first player in the history of World Cups to score 50 runs and take 5 wickets in the same match. In the tournament, he scored 4 fifties and a century. The century (113) coming against the West Indies was a valiant knock. He vomited blood on the field but refused to go back to the dressing room. Post the game against the Windies, the support staff was all set to rest Yuvraj Singh for the rest of the tournament. But Yuvi refused to give up. He was diagnosed with stage – 1 cancer. He kept his treatment on hold for the sake of the World Cup title and eventually won it for his country. He slogged 362 runs in 8 innings at a staggering average of 90.5 and also took 15 wickets in the tournament. His all round performance was acknowledged as he was chosen the Man of the Tournament in the mega event.
Post the World Cup, Yuvraj went to Boston for his treatment. He made a comeback in World T20 2012. Post cancer, he never looked the old Yuvraj Singh with fire in his eyes. Yet, he gave some memorable performances which included his ODI career best score of 150 which came alongside MS Dhoni who scored 134 and the duo lifted India up from a miserable 25/3 to a commanding 358/6 against England in 2017 home series.
The man who risked his life for the country. The man who gave India it’s first World Cup after 28 years. The man who redefined aggression through his batting. The man who was all set to be the next big thing in Indian Cricket, as quoted by Australian great, Adam Gilchrist. The man who killed death and came back in action like a warrior, retired from all forms of international cricket on June 10, 2019. He will always be remembered as one of the most formidable limited overs player to have ever played the game of cricket!
Thank you YUVI PAJI❤
Yuvraj Singh, India (2000 – 2019)
International Career:
Matches: 402
Runs: 11778
Batting Average: 30.12
Strike Rate: 83.74
Best Score: 169 vs Pakistan, 2007
Wickets: 148
Bowling Average: 36.08
Strike Rate: 43.26
Best figures: 5/31 vs Ireland, 2011
The Shreeraj Deshmukh Blog🏏 