In this photograph taken on March 24, 2011, Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh celebrates after beating Australia during the quarter-final match of The ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 between India and Australia at The Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera in Ahmedabad.
The Indian batsman announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing an end to a 19-year career
Limited-overs star, World Cup hero, cancer survivor. Yuvraj Singh has seen it all in a career spanning 19 years.
2000 Under-19 World Cup, Sri Lanka
The son of former India and Punjab fast bowler Yograj Singh, Yuvraj Singh made his mark as a junior cricketer, making the cut to the Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka where India emerged champions for the first time. In eight games, Yuvraj scored 203 runs and picked up 12 wickets with two four-wicket hauls. In the semi-final against Australia in Galle, he smashed 58 off 25 balls with five sixes. He was named Player of the Series.
2000 ICC Knockout, Nairobi
In his first innings in international cricket for India (in his second ODI), Yuvraj announced his arrival with 84 off 80 balls against a full-strength Australian bowling attack. Having set up India’s victory, he also picked up the Man of the Match award.
2002 home series against Zimbabwe: finding his mojo
After a string of below-par performances, Yuvraj proved his ability to win matches for India under pressure while chasing, during a home series against Zimbabwe. At Hyderabad, with India trailing in the series, Yuvraj hit an unbeaten 80 off 74 balls to help India level the series. He followed it up with 75 in the next game to help India clinch the series.
2002 Natwest Final: the jailbreak
India looked all but out of the contest with the score at 146 for 5 chasing 326. Yuvraj (69) and Mohammad Kaif (87*) then scripted one of India’s greatest ODI wins, upsetting the hosts England at Lord’s.
2003: first international century
Yuvraj scored the first of his 17 international centuries during a ODI series in Dhaka, where he scored an unbeaten 102.
2003 vs New Zealand: home Test debut
The wait for the Test debut finally ended, when he debuted at his home ground Mohali against New Zealand. He scored 20 and 5* in a draw.
2004: first Test century
Yuvraj scored 3 Test centuries.
During a gripping series between India and Pakistan in 2003-04 (India’s first full tour of Pakistan since 1989), Yuvraj rescued India with a century (112) in the second Test at Lahore. He held the innings together after India had slumped to 147 for 7 on the first day.
2005 vs South Africa: another rescue act
Another century under immense pressure, this time in a one-day international against South Africa at Hyderabad. Though India didn’t win, Yuvraj saved the team from a big embarrassment after they were 5 or 3 at one stage, and later 35 for 5.
2006: unstoppable against Pakistan
Yuvraj was in sublime form during the ODIs on the 2005-06 tour of Pakistan, which India won 4-1. His scores were 39, 82*, 79*, 37, 107*, helping him clinch the Man of the Series prize.
2007: six sixes in an over
During the 2007 World T20 in South Africa, Yuvraj took England’s Stuart Broad apart, hitting him for six sixes in an over. He became the second player (after Herschelle Gibbs) to achieve this feat in an international match.
2007: tormenting Pakistan again
When Pakistan returned for a full series in India in 2007, Yuvraj hit four half-centuries in five ODIs and followed it up with his highest Test score of 169, in Bangalore after India were under pressure on the first day.
2008: silencing England in Chennai
Yuvraj combined with Sachin Tendulkar to help India chase a mammoth 387 in the Chennai Test against England. Yuvraj contributed an unbeaten 85. He also scored two centuries in the ODIs before the Tests.
2009: not one, but two IPL hat-tricks
A useful part-time left-arm spinner, Yuvraj stunned everyone by picking up two hat-tricks in an IPL season. Playing for Kings XI Punjab, he took his first hat-trick against RCB and later in the season his second came against Deccan Chargers.
2011 World Cup: Player of the Tournament
Following a difficult 2010 when he was dropped from the squad, Yuvraj bounced back in the tournament that mattered the most. He scored 362 runs, picked up 15 wickets (including a career-best 5 for 31) and four Man of the Match awards and the Player of the Series award. However, he put his health on the line during the World Cup.
Yuvraj Singh smashed 6 sixes in an over from Stuart Broad during the 2007 World T20 championship.
2012: cancer strikes
Yuvraj’s most challenging battle came away from the field, when he was diagnosed with cancer. He had a condition called mediastinal seminoma, a germ-cell tumour located between his two lungs. He underwent chemotherapy treatment in the US and returned to India in April 2012.
2012: Yuvraj returns
Yuvraj made an emotional comeback to international cricket the same year, scoring 34 in an T20 international against New Zealand in Chennai.
2014 World T20: start of the end?
During the 2014 World T20 final against Sri Lanka at Dhaka, Yuvraj was slammed for sucking the momentum out of the Indian innings with 11 off 21 balls as India struggled to put up a competitive total. During his retirement presser, Yuvraj described that day as one of the worst in his career.
2015: IPL jackpot
Waning form or not, it did not diminish his worth at the IPL auction table. In 2015, Delhi Daredevils forked out a record Rs 16 crore, making him one of the most expensive buys in IPL history.
2016 vs England: final century
Yuvraj’s 150 against England in Cuttack was his highest ODI score but also his last international century. It powered India to 381.
2017 Champions Trophy
This turned out to be Yuvraj’s last appearance in an ICC tournament. He managed a half-century against Pakistan at Edgbaston.
2017 West Indies tour
This turned out to be his final series as an India player. In three ODIs, he scored 4, 14 and 39.
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