Yuvraj Singh is regarded as one of India’s greatest match-winners. The reason India won two World Cups in four years was because of Yuvraj’s exemplary batting. From smashing six sixes against India’s Stuart Broad at the 2007 T20 World Cup to winning the Player of the Tournament in India’s victorious campaign in the 2011 World Cup, Yuvraj was all around Indian cricket. Yuvraj’s impact went beyond the numbers. Years have passed, but India has yet to find a No. 4 batter as natural as Yuvraj. Add to that his knack for breaking partnerships, and Yuvraj became a valuable asset for India.
But like all greats, even Yuvraj endured a low phase in his career. After he recovered from cancer, he was never quite the same, barring the odd explosive innings. Between 2012 and 2017, Yuvraj was in and out of the team, and he played his last match against the West Indies in 2017. The same year, Yuvraj turned back the clock, smashing a career-best 150 against England in an ODI, before announcing his retirement during the 2019 World Cup.
Yuvraj had spoken about his conversation with MS Dhoni, who straightforwardly told him that the management didn’t have him in India’s future scheme of things. It’s probably around this time that Yuvraj felt he had stopped enjoying his game, experiencing a disconnect with cricket.
The burnout
“I got to that stage where my career had become a burden. So, I was not enjoying my game. It’s a very thin line. I had a feeling that ‘why am I playing cricket when I’m not enjoying it?’ I was not feeling supported. I was not feeling respected. And I feel ‘Why do I need to do this when I don’t have it?” Yuvraj told Sania Mirza on the latter’s YouTube show ‘Serving it Up with Sania’.
“When the game has given me so much, I’ve given my best. So why am I lingering on to something that I’m not enjoying? Why do I need to play? To prove what? I can’t do more than this, mentally or physically. It was hurting me, so I decided to stop. The day I decided to stop, I was myself again.”
In fact, the period between 2014 and 2017 was tough for Yuvraj. He scored just one T20I fifty for India, to go with a half-century and a hundred in ODIs. With a young bunch of players emerging, Yuvraj’s form dwindled, and he could never really cement a place in India’s Playing XI.
