I wanted to finish on a high and say goodbye: Yuvraj Singh recalls IPL 2019
Former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh revealed that he wanted to hang up his boots after having a good IPL season. Yuvraj Singh had a disappointing 2018 IPL season with the Sunrisers Hyderabad due to which he was released by the franchise.
However, with Yuvraj Singh harboring aspirations of a spot in India's 2019 World Cup squad, he wanted to give one final push by playing IPL 2019 and ending his career on a high.
Yuvraj Singh was picked up by the Mumbai Indians in the 2019 IPL auction and he began the season in fantastic style with a fifty against the Delhi Capitals. He looked good in the first few matches but his form tapered off, meaning that he was dropped from the playing eleven.
"See I did not have a good 2018 IPL so I thought that this (2019 edition) is my last IPL and I want to finish on a high and say goodbye. I was not really thinking about international cricket you know. Because Ambati Rayudu was playing in the number four spot and was doing well so I thought the team had moved on. So I really wanted to have a good IPL and then end my career. I started well in the IPL but it did not go well and there were young guys who were doing well," Yuvraj Singh told Sportskeeda in the chat show 'Free Hit'.
I wanted to be happy again: Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh has been one of India's finest white-ball players and played an important role in India winning the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 Cricket World Cup, winning the player of the tournament in the latter.
But he was diagnosed with cancer which played a big part in him getting sidelined from the Indian team. That affected his form and he could not produce the performances the world had become accustomed to. Thus, he decided to call it quits after the 2019 IPL.
"I have almost played 400 games for India. I was diagnosed with cancer at the peak of my career. So it was just that I was mostly satisfied and it was causing me a lot of stress mentally and I was not able to sleep properly and I wanted to be happy personally. So I realised that it was time to move on," Yuvraj Singh asserted.
Despite a premature end to a wonderful career, Yuvraj Singh will always be remembered as one of India's finest all-rounders.