Is the Indian team management at fault for Yuvraj Singh's early retirement?
Yuvraj Singh opened up on his retirement and spoke at length for the first time following his premature retirement earlier in the year.
Speaking to Aaj Tak, Yuvraj didn't hold back as he opened up on his wish to play the 2019 World Cup and how he was not kept in the loop before being shown the door by the Indian team management.
According to the southpaw, he was asked to prepare for the Sri Lanka series following the 2017 Champions Trophy and then to clear the yo-yo test to be eligible for selection before being completely shunned out of the setup.
"Never thought that I would be dropped after being the man of the match in 2 games out of the 8-9 I played after the Champions Trophy 2017. I got injured and I was told to prepare for the SL series. then suddenly, the yo-yo test came into the picture. It was a u-turn in my selection. Suddenly I had to go back and prepare for the yo-yo test at the age of 36. Even after I cleared the yo-yo test, I was told to play domestic cricket. They actually thought that I wouldn't be able to clear the test due to my age. And that it would be easy to decline me afterwards...yeah you can say it was an exercise in making excuses," Yuvraj said.
The 37-year-old also spoke of his desire about playing the 2019 World Cup but soon made peace with the fact that he can't and it was the right time to walk away post the tournament.
"Yes, I wanted to play the WC 2019. Didn't feel good when I missed out on the 2015 edition as I was scoring heavily in the Ranji trophy back then. but there were a lot of factors which I can't put in words. Before the 2019 WC, I was 37 years old and a lot of things didn't go in my favour. I thought I should be thankful for the amount of cricket I have already played rather than ruing missing out on another WC. I'm glad that I retired at the right time," the former India all-rounder said.
Yuvraj last played for India against West Indies at North Sound on June 30, where he scored a 55-ball 39 coming in at No.4.
