For cricket fans of the 21st century, the name Yuvraj Singh is more than just that. It signifies courage, dedication, hard work and a talent beyond measure. For the first decade of the new millenium, he was easily the most stylish batsman around, a great finisher and a deadly match-winner.
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Sadly the success of ODIs and T20Is did not quite reproduce itself at Test level, but what is a sportsman without his failures?
Since his debut in 2000, he has represented India in some key campaigns and was there for many precious moments. In addition to his value as a batsman, the man was an outstanding fielder and a more than useful bowler.
Who can forget his great catches vs South Africa in the 2002 Champions Trophy? Or the six sixes he hit off Stuart Broad in the 2007 World T20? But the red cherry on top has to be his performances that won us the 2011 World Cup. In 9 games, Yuvraj scored 362 runs and took 15 wickets as we ended our 28-year-old wait for the greatest prize in the game. It was fitting that he was at the other end when MS Dhoni's six lit up the Mumbai sky and the nation celebrated being on top of the world.
But his greatest battle was not on the field. Life, like cricket, can take you by surprise. He was diagnosed with cancer and as his treatment began, he was lost to the game for sometime. It was revealed that the cancer was already in his body during the World Cup, meaning he was battling life and the opposition at the same time. The man is a fighter, though, and nothing, not even cancer was going to keep him down. He defeated the disease, trained hard and in 2012 was finally back in the Indian team.
Sadly, he was not the same Yuvraj and while there were some great knocks in the middle, none better than his century vs England in 2017, it was clear that he was in the twilight of his career.
But as we said earlier, this does not tarnish his legacy. His triumph both on and off the field is a testament to his courage as a player and as a human being.
Now the man has called time on his career and truth be told, it is an end of an era. The memories of his batting live on in the minds of his fans.