Retirement was Yuvraj Singh’s own decision, says mother Shabnam Singh

One of India’s best-known cricketers in limited-overs cricket, Yuvraj Singh, announced his retirement from international cricket on Monday at a press conference in Mumbai. The left-arm cricketer – a dashing batsman as well as an effective orthodox spinner – made his debut for India in 2000 against Kenya and played his last game for the country against West Indies in 2017.

His recent most tournament was the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 in which he played for eventual champions Mumbai Indians. Besides playing 304 ODIs, Yuvraj played in 40 Tests though he was never that effective in the longer format. Besides, he also played in 58 T20Is for India and was one of the highest-paid cricketers in the IPL even a few seasons back.

The Southpaw had quite a few achievements in his illustrious career. While he was a member of the India U19 team that had won the 2000 edition, he was also part of the 2007 World T20 team in which he slammed six sixes in one over. In 2011, the left-hander even went on to become the player of the tournament of the World Cup played at home. Overall, he played over 400 international matches for India, scoring over 11,000 runs and taking nearly 150 wickets. The man commands even greater respect for having beaten the deadly disease of cancer to return to 22 yards.

Yuvraj Singh’s mother Shabnam Singh said after his son’s announcement on retirement that it was the latter’s own decision to quit the game. “It was his decision to retire. Well, he has had a good career. He has won all the major tournaments, a very good accomplishment for him. He has done India proud. A mother can only stand in the back and appreciate his son,” NDTV Sports cited reports as quoting Shabnam Singh.

Yuvraj Singh’s father is former India cricketer Yograj Singh who though never could make it big. Yuvi conceded later that his father indeed played a big role behind him becoming a cricketer but also added that their relationship has seen difficult times. Yuvraj also said at the press conference that he would continue to work towards assisting cancer patients through his YouWeCan foundation.