India's World Cup dreams would have been a distant reality if not for this man and today after 19 years of service, Yuvraj Singh decided to hang up his boots and what a wonderful career it was.
A snub from India's 2019 World Cup was believed to be the final nail in the coffin but when heroes walk out, you do feel nostalgic and hurt and that is exactly what has happened as the nation salutes the elegant southpaw, who perhaps made a million childhood better.
"It is time to say goodbye to move on and walk away. It has been a roller coaster ride and a great story but it has to come to an end," Yuvraj said at a press conference in Mumbai.
"After 25 years, I have decided to move on. Cricket has given me everything and is the reason why I stand here today. I was extremely lucky to play 400 games for India. I could have never imagined it when I first started playing cricket," he added.
Yuvraj Singh retires from international cricket
A veteran of 304 ODIs, 40 Test matches and 58 T20Is, his 19-year-old career thus came to an end on an uneventful note. But, a very successful one nonetheless. He has been the most effective in ODIs, scoring 8701 runs at an average of 36.55. He has smashed 14 centuries and 52 fifties in the 278 innings he has played. In T20Is, Yuvraj has registered 1177 runs at a disappointing average of 28.02 with 77 not out being his highest. Meanwhile, Test cricket remains the most underwhelming for a man of his talents as he could only manage 1900 runs from 62 innings at an average of 33.92 with a highest of 169.
And, as he walks away, Twitter was emotional for the legend.
