Yuvi- A Tale of Passion, Resilience and Glory

The retirement of Yuvraj Singh has come as heartbreak to his millions of fans who wished to see more of this charismatic batsman at the International Level. However, all good things come to an end and so has Yuvraj’s career. To put things in perspective, it would not be an exaggeration that only few players have had such an impact on Modern Day limited over batting like Yuvraj Singh has had during his career. He rather added new elements to white ball cricket- developed a form of exquisite batting in middle order orchestrated with some beautiful stroke play achieved with superb timing and excellent hand eye coordination. 

Yuvraj was indeed a gifted player. He had that X- Factor- an aura that made him different from other batsmen of his generation. Something that really set Yuvi apart was his fluency and his positive attitude towards batting. He had an amazing knack of consistently finding the fence or even rotating the strike depending upon the situation. For most part of his One Day Career Yuvi batted at number 4 position – look carefully at his fantastic strike rate of 87.68 and you would get an idea of the player he was. To get a deeper insight, let it be known that most of the successful number 4 batsmen who played alongside Yuvraj have much lower strike rates than his- Mahela Jayawardene having 78.96, Michael Clarke having 78.99 and Ross Taylor, who is himself considered a brilliant stroke player having 83.49. This goes on to show that Yuvraj’s batting was not just about scoring runs but was about scoring them at a brisk pace.         

There are different ways to look at his cricket career. The deeper you go beyond statistics and analyze the context of his performances, the more you discover how Yuvraj defined and transformed India’s limited over batting for several years. I would go on to assert that Yuvi’s game was much beyond record books, stats and score cards. In fact, I am one of the many who believe that his batting average of 36.56 doesn’t actually show you the full picture and in no way should it be treated as an accurate measure of his immense capability.

Yuvi was a champion of big occasions- we have many special memories of him etched in our minds and most of them are from decisive moments in huge tournaments. He had a great temperament and never let pressure get the better of him. Who can forget the Natwest Trophy Final of 2002, where a 20 year old Yuvi showed unbelievable composure and together with Mohammad Kaif engineered one of India’s greatest ever triumphs. Natwest show was perhaps the auspicious vibe of the greatness that Yuvraj was about to bring to Indian cricket. He grew in maturity and stature in the years to follow. He played a role in a few games in the 2003 World Cup with his unbeaten half century against Pakistan being the most special one. Although there remained a factor of inconsistency with his form, Yuvraj was always a vital cog in the Indian limited over squad.

He carved a niche of his own in a star studded Indian batting line up – as a solid middle order batsman who could anchor the innings, accelerate the innings or even finish things off in style. His finishing exploits, particularly in partnership with MS Dhoni was a great asset for a long time and these two pulled off some memorable chases during that period. Only few players batted as elegantly and as dominantly as Yuvraj when he was in his full swing. He was a thorough entertainer and a genuine match winner on his day. Most crucially, he had great affection and passion for the game. He loved his batting, he loved being on the field and he loved wearing the Indian jersey more than anything else. He was always delighted to entertain us as much as we were delighted to get entertained and enchanted by his batting.

         

Big players often flourish on big stages and same goes for Yuvraj as well. The 2007 T20 World Cup saw Yuvraj stamp his authority on world cricket with his belligerent batting. Stuart Broad, of course bore the maximum brunt of Yuvraj’s onslaught on that famous night in Durban. This incredible feat was followed by another splendid innings against Australia in the Semifinals, which is rated by many as one of the finest T20 innings ever played.  

Needless to say, Yuvraj was the chief architect of India’s World Cup win in 2011 as well. We all remember that six of MS Dhoni that sailed over Wankhede but it was Yuvraj’s contribution all though the tournament that was the key to India’s path to glory. He amassed important runs, grabbed wickets at crucial junctures and saved runs with his brilliant fielding- it seemed there was nothing that the Prince of Mohali could not do.

Yuvraj has been a true fighter on the field and off the field. It is difficult to imagine a player battling it out on the cricket field and giving his 100% despite suffering from a life threatening ailment. But Yuvraj proved to be far tougher than the testing situations that came his way. The fact that that he not only played the World Cup but also gave the most memorable performance of his life shows his commitment, grit and love for the country.   

Players like Yuvraj are the real gems of the game- characters which defy all odds and follow their passion no matter how difficult the situation is. A man who smashed every opponent out of the park had to battle with one of the most painful and challenging diseases in the world. But as rock solid as he is, Yuvi fought hard and he came back to fulfill his greatest dream- to play cricket for India. If this is not a story to inspire I don’t know which one is.

I recall the great Adam Gilchrist once saying- “Cancer spoiled Yuvi's Career otherwise he was all set to be the next thing in Cricket World". May be Gilly was right. May be there was much more to come from Yuvraj that we could never see. May be there were many more records to be broken by this legend which remained to be broken. But reiterating what I mentioned in the beginning, Yuvi as a cricketer goes much beyond these record books. Yuvi ‘s success defines exceptional dedication, the celebration of the passion and spirit of the sport and the indomitable courage of an athlete. Whenever story tellers would narrate tales of epic fight backs and perseverance in sports, Yuvi’s journey would be an essential addition.

I wish score cards had a field that could show the respect and love that a player has in the hearts of cricket fans. Yuvraj would have created thumping records there as well…Love u always Yuvi!