Just a day after Virat Kohli-led India defeated Australia in the 2019 World Cup clash, Yuvraj Singh announced his retirement from international cricket. Though Yuvraj was at the fag end of his career, not many were expecting him to retire at that time.
Fans and experts thought that Yuvi took the decision after being hurt over the World Cup snub. The left-hander last played for India in 2017 but ended his career only after failing to make a cut into the World Cup squad.
After his retirement, Yuvraj has several times blamed the selectors for not treating him well. But the two-times World Cup-winner has finally revealed why he hanged up his boots in June 2019.
Yuvraj Singh decided to retire after realising cricket was not helping him mentally
“When you are at a fast pace in life you don’t realise a lot of things, and suddenly you are like what has happened here, and I am sitting here at home for 2-3 months, obviously for a different reason. I have got to a stage when cricket was not helping me mentally, I always wanted to play cricket, but it was not helping me in a good state of mind. I was dragging myself and thinking when do I have to retire, should I retire, should I not retire, should I play for another season’,” said the 38-year-old during a recent chat with Gaurav Kapur.
“I miss the game sometimes, but more often, I do not miss it because I have played for so many years. I get so many messages for fans, so much love that I feel really blessed. More than anything the respect the game has given you, and if you are happy with that respect you have earned for the last 20 years I think it’s the right time to move on. So, I think the day I retired, I was free, it was a very emotional moment, I can’t put that in word, but certainly, I feel free after that, mentally very happy. I hadn’t slept since many years, and I tried to sleep really well,” he added.
Yuvraj ended his international career with an outstanding record of 8701 runs and 111 wickets in One-Day Internationals (ODIs). He played a crucial role when MS Dhoni-led India lifted the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 and clinched the 2011 ODI World Cup at the iconic Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.
