India’s 2011 World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh fought back tears as he announced his retirement from international cricket at a press conference in Mumbai on Monday.

Yuvraj, who has played 40 Tests, 304 ODIs, and 58 T20Is, was also pivotal in India’s triumph in the 2007 World T20.

Addressing the media, Yuvraj said: “It was a great roller-coaster ride and beautiful story but it has to come to an end. It is the right time to go.” 

The free-flowing southpaw scored 1900 in Tests, 8701 in ODIs and 1177 in the shortest format of the game, while chipping in regularly with vital wickets for his side.

Few can forget his exploits in the 2011 World, where he scored 362 runs and grabbed 15 wickets, or when he struck Stuart Broad for six sixes in 2007.

Apart from that, Yuvraj recollected a few standout games that will linger in his memory for years. 

“I would say I am extremely lucky to play 400-plus games for India. I would’ve not imagined this when I started my career. Through this journey, some matches that remain in my memory are - the 2002 NatWest series final, my first Test hundred in Lahore in 2004, the 2007 Test series in England, of course the six sixes and the 2007 T20 World Cup. And then the most memorable one was the 2011 World Cup finals.”

“And then, probably the worst day in my career, was the 2014 World T20 final against Sri Lanka where I scored 11 off 21 balls. It was so shattering that I felt my career was over,” Yuvraj said.

If the World Cup triumph was a high-point for him personally, the low-point ensued immediately after when he was diagnosed with cancer. After a short spell on the sidelines during which he underwent treatment in the United States, he returned to the game in 2012 and had been in and out of the national side till his final appearance in June 2017.