3 Indian players who are likely to retire after the World Cup
The early 2000s; the period which lies close to the hearts of every 90s kid. Who can forget Hayden scoring 380 and Lara toppling it the very next year; Akhtar becoming the first man on the planet to breach the100 mile mark; Tendulkar getting out on 98 against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup and many, many, more everlasting memories. What wouldn’t we give to re-live those heart-etched memories! But everything must bow down to the law of nature.
These 3 superstars who debuted in the early 2000s are also no exception to this. These players have seen better times and they belong to a rare breed of cricketers from the early 2000s who still haven’t hung their boots.
#3 Yuvraj Singh
The swashbuckling southpaw has, arguably the cleanest bat-swing in the history of the game. He terrorized batsmen in his heydays and hit sixes when he was bored. Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj’s partnership on the field was a benchmark for all other Indians back then. He also turned out to be a big-match player for India, having almost single-handedly won the 2007 World T20 and the 2011 World Cup. Then cancer hit him. He couldn’t regain his touch ever since and had been patchy in his comebacks.
This year almost seemed like a nail in the coffin, when he was consistently overlooked even in the Kings XI squad. The man who hit six sixes in an over could hardly put bat to ball. Hand-eye coordination abandoned him and his bat-swing was no more silky-smooth.
It was a surprise when Yuvraj remained silent after the World T20 when every other soul on the planet expected his retirement speech. Maybe the six-machine had the 2019 World Cup in mind, which was a debatable choice considering his absence under the selectors’ radar these days.