Yuvraj Singh‘s greatness as a player and his contribution to Indian cricket multiple times. The all-rounder Yuvraj Singh was instrumental in helping India win the 2007 and 2011 World Cups and Gambhir also made a significant contribution in both the wins. Yuvraj Singh’s prominence in white ball cricket is of no argument especially with Indian cricket.
Former India batter Gautam Gambhir defended naming Yuvraj Singh as the greatest-ever white-ball player in the past. The former all-rounder has arguably been one of the greatest match-winners that the nation has ever produced, especially in limited-overs cricket.
Yuvraj Singh’s ODI and T20Is exploits
There are very few better sights in world cricket than witnessing a free-flowing Yuvraj Singh at his best. Undoubtedly, he is right up there among the greatest match-winners in white-ball cricket. Those glorious cover drives, slap cuts through backward point and an effortless wristy drop kick over mid-wicket, all oozed class. Yuvraj Singh full repertoire was on display during his international debut that came in the 50-overs format against Australia in the 2000 Champions Trophy.
It wasn’t everyday that a batsman put the formidable Aussie attack to sword during that time and certainly not a rookie. Yuvraj had arrived with a bang and what instantly stood out apart from his batting, was the electric fielding skills. India’s fielding was on an average level in that era and hence someone like Yuvraj Singh came as a whiff of fresh air.
Despite gaining immediate stardom, Yuvraj Singh wasn’t able to capitalize on it with fitness and commitment issues dogging him. But, as he was to show multiple times in the years to come, the lad from Punjab roared back in style, in the 2002 season where he produced quite a few impact knocks, none bigger than the iconic NatWest final heist with Mohammad Kaif.
Since that tournament, Yuvraj Singh gradually cemented his spot as a middle order batsman who could build an innings as well as explode at will. His utility left-arm spin also made him a complete limited-overs package and his performances were instrumental in India’s steady rise in the shorter formats. They finished runners-up in the 2003 World Cup and despite scoring a lot of runs, Yuvraj still produced some crucial knocks.
Over the next few years, Yuvraj Singh along with the then raw MS Dhoni became vital cogs of the Indian middle order that relished chasing down scores in ODI cricket. The duo often made a mockery of the opposition’s target and India at one point even held a record for the most successful run chases in a trot.
Yuvraj was gaining at the peak of his powers and one impeccable quality of his was to rise in big tournaments/matches. There were many instances when he was not in great touch but would go on to fire instantly in an ICC tournament. The man simply loved to rock on the big stage and deal with the pressures that came with it.
Such was Yuvraj’s ability with the bat that he was well ahead of the T20 format that had just started to spread its wings in 2007. The inaugural World T20 happened and his strokeplay in that showpiece even is till date regarded as one of the best in cricket’s history.
Not only did he become the first Indian to smash 6 sixes in an over but also produced a free-wheeling assault in the semifinal against Australia as India surged into the finals and eventually became the champions. Yuvraj particularly enjoyed playing against Australia and as many of his ODI knocks had shown before, he often rose to the occasion.
The 2010-11 season saw a really lean patch for Yuvraj as he was struggling big time to score runs. With the ODI World Cup around the corner, there were concerns on whether he would be in the squad or not. But the then skipper MS Dhoni was adamant and confident of Yuvraj’s skills and the dasher repaid his captain’s faith in the best possible way – Man of the Tournament award on cricket’s biggest stage as India reclaimed the World Cup after 28 years.
Yuvraj’s impact was hard to miss as he contributed with the bat at vital times apart from also filling in as the fifth bowler with astonishing success. All this apart from his fielding which had started to fade a bit but still in rather good shape.
Post the 2011 World Cup, the tragic news came that Yuvraj had been battling the initial stages of cancer even before the tournament. He barely played any matches in that season and went for rehabs over an extensive period of time. Like his batting, Yuvraj was a fighter in real life too and fought his way back from cancer.
However, that fight came at a cost as he wasn’t the player he was before the disease hit him. He was a pale shadow of his past during the 2013-14 season and biggest tragedy was seeing him struggle in the World T20 final of 2014. He was producing the odd good knock during this phase but the fluency of yesteryear was definitely missing. After that World T20 final, he was axed from India’s limited-overs teams and he himself revealed that the body wasn’t perhaps fully fit.
Over the next few seasons, Yuvraj worked hard on his fitness and although he missed the 2015 World Cup and 2016 World T20, he made a comeback in early 2017 after a strong domestic showing. With the no.4 slot starting to haunt India in a big way, Virat Kohli felt that the veteran would fit the bill, especially with the Champions Trophy due that year.
Yuvraj did churn out a few impact knocks after his comeback and even blitzed Pakistan in the Champions Trophy opener. The shots hadn’t diminished at all, but what had gone was that consistency and fluency which were now coming occasionally.
After the 2017 Champions Trophy where India finished runners-up, Yuvraj was among a few senior players who were axed from the side. The shocking decline for him was in his fielding which was unthinkable a decade ago. Although the initial reasoning given was ‘resting’, it was evident that the think tank were looking beyond them with the 2019 World Cup in mind. Yuvraj continues to play domestic cricket and harbors hopes of another international comeback which though, seems unlikely.
Despite all his success in white-ball cricket, Yuvraj was never able to make an impression in Tests. The case is quite similar to Australian great Michael Bevan who endured a fine career in ODIs but struggled in the longest format.
Yuvraj also wasn’t able to get a grip of red-ball cricket although he did produce a few fine knocks. In domestic cricket, he had played several marathon knocks but wasn’t able to replicate that form or consistency at the highest level. Irrespective of what the future holds for him, Yuvraj shall be remembered as one of India’s finest limited-overs greats.
KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir has on record spoken about Yuvraj Singh’s greatness as a player and his contribution to Indian cricket multiple times.
Yuvraj Singh is the greatest white ball all rounders of all times reckons Gautam Gambhir
Speaking recently to Sportskeeda, Gautam Gambhir gave a gentle reminder to the Indian cricket fans and critics of Yuvraj’s unforgettable contribution to Indian cricket. Speaking to Sportskeeda’s Match Ki Baat segment ahead of KKR’s final league game against RR on Sunday, Gambhir explained why he considers Yuvraj Singh the greatest white-ball player of all time.
“Just take a look at Yuvraj Singh’s contribution in the 2007 T20 World Cup, look at his innings against Australia and England. Consider his contribution in the 2011 ODI World Cup. So, I just reminded the world of Yuvraj Singh’s achievements. I just tried reminding everyone of it and talk about the player, whose contributions helped India win 2 World Cups,” Gambhir said in an exclusive interaction with Sportskeeda.
“Yuvraj Singh is still, in my eyes, the greatest white ball player ever. No one has been better than him, and no one in India still is. The reason is that, you have to look at his contribution with the ball and the field as well. You also have to look at his batting position. Back then, there was only one white ball, there were five fielders outside the circle. So, if you consider all of these things, and then judge the performances, then no is better than Yuvraj,” Gambhir further added.
The former Indian cricketer said that unfortunately there is not much talk about Yuvraj Singh in Indian cricket and hence he tried to give a reminder to the fans what Yuvraj Singh was all about.
“Nowadays, there are 2 new balls, four fielders outside the circle for the majority part, DRS. So, from that point of view, I don’t think there is any other player who can match Yuvraj Singh’s performances. So, I did not say anything wrong. Unfortunately, we do not talk about Yuvraj enough, there are many reasons for it, and the less I say about it, the better,” Gambhir concluded.
KKR’s last match against Gujarat Titans was washed out due to rain on May 13 and hence the team is playing after a long break. The Royals meanwhile lost their previous match to the Punjab Kings and have lost four matches after getting to 16 points on the table. Meanwhile, RCB became the fourth team to make it to the playoffs after beating CSK in their last league game at the Chinnaswamy on Saturday.