Out of the national team reckoning for a while now, Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh said he will continue playing cricket till 2019, the year of the next World Cup, before taking a call on his retirement.
The 36-year-old, who last played for India in June 2017 in an ODI, said the upcoming Indian Premier League holds great significance for him as a good performance will help him keep in the fray for a spot in the 2019 World Cup.
“I am looking forward to a good IPL. It’s a very important tournament for me as it will only set me to play cricket till 2019. I am looking to play cricket till 2019, whatever cricket I get to play and take a call after that,” Yuvraj told PTI on the sidelines of the 18th Laureus World Sports Awards.
A regular in the Indian ODI team till the 2011 World Cup triumph before being sidetracked by a rare germ cell cancer, Yuvraj’s only regret was that he could not cement his place in the Indian Test side.
“Definitely, in the first six to seven years of my career when I was at my best I did not get a lot of opportunities because there were such great players in the (Test) team and when I got an opportunity I was diagnosed with cancer. So that regret will always be there but these things are never in my control. I am just looking forward to whatever cricket I get to play,” the 36-year-old all-rounder said.
Yuvraj, who is here as a Laureus ambassador from India, praised Virat Kohli and his men for the character they showed to bounce back in the limited overs series after the close 1-2 loss in the Test series.
“I think it is a pretty great performance. They showed a lot of character after losing the Test series. It was as a hard-fought Test series, could have gone either way. But it was a very convincing win in the ODI series. Kohli led from the front with some big runs,” the left-handed batsman said.
“Spinners bowled very well especially Kuldeep (Yadav) and (Yuzvendra) Chahal and got South Africa into trouble. And then they stepped on the gas and won the T20 series 2-1. Going abroad playing three series winning two definitely shows India’s dominance.”
Yuvraj, an Under-19 World Cup winning player himself, offered some words of advice for the likes of young Prthivi Shaw and Shubman Gill, who have already fetched big money from their respective franchises in the last IPL auctions.
“The more they get better the more money they will earn. So they don’t have to worry about money. They have to focus on how quickly they can do better and play for India,” he said when asked about the Indian Under-19 cricketers.
“I think Prithvi, Shubman, Abhishek Sharma are great talents and hopefully in the next coming years we will see them play for India. I am sure the IPL will give them a great platform to learn from other international players and feel the hype of international cricket. So it’s very important tournament for them and they should enjoy it,” Yuvraj said.
With PTI inputs
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!