‘I was not feeling respected’ – Yuvraj Singh recalls decision to retire from cricket

Former World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh has recently disclosed the exact reasons behind his eventual exit from the sport he played all his life. Yuvraj retired from all forms of professional cricket in June 2019, after he found himself dropped from India’s squad for the ODI World Cup that year.

During a podcast with former Indian tennis great Sania Mirza, the Chandigarh-born mentioned that he felt he was not feeling respected and supported enough to continue. He also noted that he had nothing left to prove to anyone else after an illustrious career.

“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? 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,” shared Yuvraj in an interaction on the talk show.

Yuvraj also recalled the phase of his cricketing career during his teenage years when cricketer-turned-commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu had written the former off, as well as how Yuvraj’s father Yograj Singh had taken the ex-India opener’s comments personally.

“Now, when I look back at it, I just think he 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 noted.

Yuvraj is considered one of India‘s finest cricketers. He ended up with 11,778 runs and 148 wickets across all formats at the highest level. He was also a really good fielder during his playing days, contributing to numerous memorable catches and moments of ground fielding. Apart from his famous six sixes in an over to Stuart Broad in 2007, the fans still revere the 44-year-old for his 2011 World Cup heroics.