Ravi Shastri once called him an ‘enigma’ – probably the perfect word to describe Yuvraj Singh. A man whose cricket career is as old as this century and yet at times – it faded into oblivion in comparison to close friend Mahendra Singh Dhoni. If there has been that one left-hander after Sourav Ganguly it has been this man – call him any name you like, ‘Yuvi, Yuvraj Singh, Flamboyant, Talent wasted’ – all fit him with equal dexterity. He was that quintessential face of cricket – the bold, beautiful, brash and the fearless – who entered hearts of millions, not to come out again.
Add to that Yuvi’s death defying act of beating cancer. The entire nation was rejoicing India’s World Cup win in 2011. And the lead character of that triumph was battling the dreaded ‘C’. Could there be anything more to add to the story? Yes, there is. Like he won many stirring battles on the green pitch, Yuvi won this fight too and came out on tops to play international cricket again. Brief as it may be, there couldn’t have been a better fairytale than this.
A part of the group comprising Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Mohammed Kaif, this flamboyant left-hander announced his arrival on the international stage with a knock of 84 against Australia in the ICC ODI Knockout tournament in 2000. And it was no second string Australian attack – there were all the pacers – Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie – all present. Yet Yuvi toyed with them, playing fearless cricket which immediately had everyone sitting up and watching. Then followed the game against South Africa in which Yuvraj took to the cleaners Alan Donald, who then was called ‘White Lightning’. India had a new star.
Enigma definitely is Yuvraj’s middle name, otherwise why this immensely talented man could never really cement his place in the Indian Test team. Red ball cricket always had him wanting. The fearless hooker and puller of the short ball was always found wanting when facing the same deliveries in the longest version of the game. A few years back, Yuvi probably summed it up in his own way when he said ‘Probably I am destined to live, but not be a great Test player’.
There can never be any doubt about his talent in the limited overs versions of the game. A natural stroke-player; a more than useful left-arm spinner and electric on any position on the field – what more could a captain want? Initially standing at gully and point he plucked many a catch out of thin air, but then Yuvraj is not just about runs, wickets and catches. He is something else, the man who defied death, defied predictions that he will never play cricket to once more light up the stands with his electrifying performances.
Yuvraj won two World Cups for India – the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 and the 2011 World Cup. And in both he came up with performances that are still talked about even after a decade. Who can forget the six sixes of England’s Stuart Broad or the 30-ball 70 against Australia? Four years later four half centuries and a century along with 15 wickets helped India win the 50-over title after a gap of 28 years. It was poetic justice that he was there at the other end to watch Dhoni’s monstrous winning stroke… he deserved to be there.
Then how does one define Yuvraj… well there is no real word right for him. One simply has to borrow the famous phrase from George Bernard Shaw’s ‘Arms and the Man’ and call him ‘What a man!’. Nothing more is necessary.
Cricket will certainly miss you Yuvi
PNN
Career stats
Tests
Batting – M-40 R-1,900 HS-169 100s-3 50s-11 Avg-33.92
Bowling –M-40 B-931 W-9 R/C-537 BB-2/9
ODIs
Batting – M-304 R-8,701 HS-150 100s-14 50s-52 SR-87.67
Bowling – M-304 B-5,048 W-111 BB-5/31 Ecn-5.10 SR-45.4
T20S
Batting – M-58 R-1,157 H-77* 100s-0 50s-8 SR-136.38
Bowling – M-58 B-424 W-28 BB-3/17 Ecn-7.06 SR-15.1
2011 World Cup
Vs Bangladesh DNB 0/42
Vs England 58 0/46
Vs Ireland 50 5/31
Vs the Netherlands 51 2/43
Vs South Africa 12 0/47
Vs West Indies 113 2/18
Vs Australia 57 2/44
Vs Pakistan (semis) 0 2/57
Vs Sri Lanka (final) 21* 2/49
