Is Yuvraj Singh tarnishing his hard-earned legacy?

Yuvraj Singh made his debut in the T10 league this season for the Maratha Arabians. He played six of the eight games in the Arabians’ run to the title, scored 44 runs with two fours and four sixes, and did not pick any wickets.

Maratha Arabians are the latest team in a line of franchise clubs for the star all-rounder, which includes the likes of Toronto Nationals in the Global T20 in Canada and the Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi and Mumbai franchises in the Indian T20 league, none of which have turned out to be very fruitful.

There is no doubt about the fact that Yuvraj Singh is an Indian legend. He has played 402 international games, scored 11,778 runs, picked up 148 wickets, taken several catches, many of them spectacular and won countless matches for the team, with the highlight being his superb performances in the 2011 ODI World Cup.

However, things took a turn for the worse after that tournament. Yuvraj Singh was diagnosed with cancer, and took a long break to rehabilitate, eventually emerging the victor against the deadly disease. But it was evident that he was not the same cricketer as before.

He never quite made a spot in the Test side, so let us take a look at his limited-overs stats.

Upto 2011, Yuvraj played 274 ODIs, scoring 8051 runs at an average of 37.62. He also played 23 T20Is in that period, scoring 567 runs at a strike-rate of 151.6. But post his return from cancer in 2012, those numbers take a hit.

In 26 innings, Yuvraj scored just 650 runs, 150 of those coming in a career-best innings against England in 2017, meaning he scored just 500 in 25 innings, giving him an average of 20. He did marginally better in T20s, scoring 610 runs in 29 innings but at an average strike-rate of 124.74.

The Punjab all-rounder mostly played in the Indian T20 league after his return from cancer, becoming the record buy for the Bangalore and Delhi franchises for two years in a row at the auctions, fetching Rs.14 and 16 crores respectively. However, he failed to justify those price tags.

In the years post his return (2013 onwards), Yuvraj has managed to play a full season of 14 games only in 2014 and 2015, with his returns fluctuating each year as he failed to maintain any sort of consistency.

With no notable performances for some years now, his chances of securing a team in the Indian T20 league auctions next month now seem slim.

The longer he continues playing, the more he is tarnishing his legacy of being a cricket great and it is hurtful to see a yesteryear great lose the fearsome reputation he possessed.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Oli Scarff