Team management kept giving me challenges as if to hasten my retirement, claims Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh had last played for India against West Indies at North Sound and his efforts to make the cut for the 2019 team ended as a hope only. Less than four months since he announced his retirement, India’s 2011 World Cup hero has alleged that his retirement was forced by the team management. Ever since his battle against cancer, Yuvraj’s place in the national side has always thrown up a question mark to many and the former all-rounder is not happy with that. 

“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 Sri Lanka 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,” Yuvraj told Aaj Tak.

“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 added.

Post-retirement, Yuvraj featured in the inaugural edition of the Global T20 league in Canada and might take up a mentor's role in Mumbai Indians this season.