Yuvraj announced his retirement from international cricket on June 10, 2019.
Yuvraj was equally good in T20Is, amassing 1177 runs from 58 matches. He was instrumental in India’s 2007 T20 World Cup title win as well.
The southpaw didn’t get consistent chances in the longest format of the game. In 40 Tests, he scored 1900 runs at 33.93 with 3 tons and 11 half-centuries.
Speaking on Sania Mirza’s YouTube channel, Yuvraj revealed he wasn’t enjoying playing cricket during the final phase of his professional career and began questioning the logic behind his persistence.
Yuvraj announced his retirement from international cricket on June 10, 2019, while his last international appearance for India was in an ODI against the West Indies in June 2017.
“I was not enjoying my game. I had a feeling that why am I playing cricket when I’m not enjoying it? I was not feeling supported. I was not feeling respected. And I felt, why do I need to do this when I don’t have this? The game has given me so much, I’ve given my best,” Yuvraj said.
“Why am I lingering on to something that I’m not enjoying? Why do I need to play? To prove what? I can’t do more than this, mentally or physically, and it was hurting me. And the day I stopped, I was myself again," he added.
Yuvraj also recalled being written off by former India batter Navjot Singh Sidhu during his early teens.
“Now, when I look back at it, I just think he (Navjot) didn’t have the time to have a proper look at me. He was just like being nice to my dad. Then obviously, he was playing for India at that time, so he probably would have said that. I was 13-14 at that time, just figuring out a sport. I don’t take it personally, but my father took it personally. He said Chal beta mein tujhe batata hoon cricket kaise khelte hain (I will teach you how cricket is played)," Yuvraj reminisced.