XtraTime Web Desk: Indian cricket legend Yuvraj Singh thanked Sourav Ganguly, his first international captain, for giving him the chance to play in Indian colours. He also thanked his idol Sachin Tendulkar who has always been a great source of support for the cricketer.
In his farewell speech, he also shared his post-retirement plan of helping cancer patients and spreading awareness about the disease. He shared some memories from the ICC World Cup 2011 which India won, riding on his stupendous performance throughout the tournament.
The press conference started with a video where the cricketer was seen reminiscing his childhood with his father Yograj Singh. Both of them took a tour down the memory lane as they gave a glimpse of various places related to Yuvraj’s journey to the cricket stardom. The cricketer also talked about how his father shaped him as a cricketer. “He was very strict as a teacher. I was not allowed to have normal teenager-like things,” said Yuvraj. The father-son duo also talked about Yuvraj’s childhood love for skating.
Her mother also featured in the video with the cricketer where he talked about his only grief in life. “I have asked my mother many times to come and see me play live in the stadium, but she would never do so,” said Yuvraj. Her mother was seen citing the reason of superstition for not seeing her son. “Everytime I watched him bat he would get out, so I stopped watching him,” said her mother. They also talked about the player’s cancer days and how his family supported him during the tough times.
The Player of the tournament in ICC World Cup 2011 has also decided to call it quits from first-class cricket. He will now look to pursue a freelancing career in ICC approved tournaments. “He would like to speak to the BCCI and get more clarity on plying his trade in tournaments like GT20 (Canada), Euro T20 Slam in Ireland and Holland as he has offers,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying to PTI. Yuvraj himself also said clarified during his conference that he would be playing this kind of cricket.
The 37-year-old cricketer was diagnosed with cancer after helping India win the 2011 World Cup with his heroics. Post-cancer he made a strong comeback into the team against Australia in 2013. But, he was unable to hold on to his consistency and never regained the purple patch of his career.
Depending on the team’s requirement, Yuvraj has been in and out of the Indian limited overs team. He last played for India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 after which he was dropped from the team failing to clear the yo-yo test. His last appearance in the whites was way back in 2012. However, he continued playing the first-class cricket and IPL. But, there also he has been unable to produce any substantial performance which could make his case of getting a place in the national team stronger.