Is it time for Yuvraj Singh to hang up his boots?
Effortless, classy, clean, sublime and what not! You will run out of adjectives to describe the strokeplay of this stylish southpaw from Punjab. Yuvraj Singh has been a fantastic cricketer for India, but does he have enough to make it to the Indian team again? What does the future hold for him? Let’s take a look.
Yuvraj Singh was instrumental in making India a superpower in cricket. Over the years he has played many significant knocks and has also been the hero of India's World Cup wins in 2007 and 2011. But does he still have it in him to carry on?
Where did it all go wrong?
Just when Yuvraj hit the best mark in his career, there was a twist in the tale. He got diagnosed with cancer which ruled him out for a year. Yuvraj, being the fighter that he is, tried hard to make a comeback but never looked the same.
The final nail in the coffin was his miserable stay at the crease in the T20 World Cup final in 2014. He struggled to get going and scored a 21-ball 11 which derailed India’s momentum. Lot of fans went on to blame him for India’s loss and his dipping form cost him his spot in the squad. He could never really impress again.
Although Yuvraj received the highest bid in the IPL auctions of 2014 and 2015, his performances kept fading in the following seasons and that resulted in the bids getting lower and lower.
Why must Yuvraj move on?
Yuvraj Singh last featured in Indian colours way back in June 2017. Since his exit, India has seen the rise of Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar and many more. At 37, if Yuvraj doesn’t fit in India’s probable list of 20 players, it is unlikely that he will feature in blue again. He was a proper middle order batsman and also a canny bowler. But now, the Indian team has as many as 3 options (Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar and Hardik Pandya) ready to undertake the same role.
Fans rejoiced Yuvi’s vintage display in the early stages of IPL 2019 but he was soon replaced by Ishan Kishan owing to lack of consistency. He was beaten for pace many times and also struggled with his timing. That's something very unlike Yuvraj, isn't it?
With youngsters such as Shubhman Gill, Abhishek Sharma and Anmolpreet Singh waiting for their turns, is it fair for Yuvi to pick and choose domestic games while playing for Punjab? This is something that came under scrutiny after Punjab failed to make an impact in the domestic circuit.
So what can we conclude?
With the Indian selectors clearly indicating their thought of moving ahead with Yuvraj, maybe it’s time for all of us to accept that his time in International cricket is nearing an end.
It's natural for 90s kids and passionate followers of the game to feel that he must be given a fitting farewell for his contribution to the game, but it's time they accept that he is no longer the player he was. Yuvraj will surely be treated as a hero when he hangs up his boots. It remains to be seen when the decision comes, but having just won the IaPL with MI, this might well be the right time for him to call it a day and end it on a winning note.
Irrespective of how this ends, cricket fans all over the world will surely miss those sweet cover drives, those wristy flicks and those classy pulls.
Also read - Highest partnerships by wicket in world cup
Follow Sportskeeda for all the updates on Cricket World Cup 2019, schedule, news, points table, live score, most runs, world cup most wickets and fantasy tips.