The highs and lows of Yuvraj Singh - The fighter

Yuvraj Singh is an inspiration to millions and needs no introduction. The man has seen it all in his life from gigantic highs to heart-wrenching lows.

Once seen as a child prodigy with exceptional talent, Yuvraj had won a national level skating competition followed by a titular role in the movies as a child artist. His father, former India Test player Yograj Singh wanted him to be a cricketer and asked him to focus only on cricket. Yuvraj toiled hard and rose through the ranks.

His consistent scores in the junior level playing for Punjab, which included a massive 358 against Bihar helped him earn a berth in the India U-19 World Cup team.

Yuvraj impressed everyone with his all-round show scoring 203 runs and picking 12 wickets in eight matches. This earned him the "Man of the Series" award and a subsequent call-up to the Indian ODI side in October 2000.

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#1 Dream Debut against Australia in 2000 - Nairobi

Even though Yuvraj made his debut against Kenya in the ICC Knockout Championship, he did not get to bat. He bowled an economical spell of 4 overs conceding 15 runs.

The first real opportunity for Yuvraj was against an all-conquering Australia led by the legendary Steve Waugh in the quarter-final of the ICC Knockout Championship, which was actually his second ODI match.

Sourav Ganguly won the toss and India opted to bat. Sachin Tendulkar started off the proceedings for India with a very entertaining cameo which included 3 hits over the fence. Once Sachin fell for 38, India lost a few wickets and were reeling at 92 for 4. In walked Yuvraj Singh, the flamboyant 18-year-old.

The second delivery he faced was dispatched to the mid-wicket boundary and he looked like a confident youngster facing a world-class attack. He built useful partnerships with Vinod Kambli and Robin Singh and batted well with the tail to push India to a score of 265. He scored 84 from 80 deliveries with 12 crunching boundaries.

He also affected a crucial run-out of Michael Bevan and India comfortably won the match by 20 runs. This effort gave him his first ever MoM in International cricket.

He performed well against South Africa in the semi-finals and Indian fans believed that a new star was born.

#2 Natwest Trophy in 2002 - England

After a dream debut, Yuvraj had faded away into the oblivion after a string of poor performances. However, Sourav Ganguly backed the youngster and gave him a second opportunity in the home series against Zimbabwe where he scored 80 and 75 in the last 2 games and sealed his spot in the side for the England tour in 2002.

Yuvraj was the star against England in the very first game of the tour. Along with Dravid, the southpaw helped India to scale down a tricky chase of 272 in Lords. While Dravid scored 73 runs, Yuvraj played a beautiful innings of 64 off 65 balls. He batted really well in the rest of the matches and proved to be a very competent finisher for India.

Yuvraj really became a showman with his performance against England in the final, which became a testimony of the grit and the character showed by India under Ganguly.

Chasing 326, India were off to a splendid with Sehwag and Ganguly scoring 100 in 13 overs. There was a collapse after a great opening stand and India were reduced to 146 for 5 with the mighty Tendulkar dismissed for 14. Indians had all but lost their hopes of scripting a comeback in the final with most of them switching off their TV sets.

Yuvraj and Kaif had a match-turning 121 run stand for the sixth wicket off a mere 105 balls, with Yuvraj scoring 69. He played some scintillating shots which included pristine cover drives and sumptuous flicks over mid-wicket.

When he got dismissed, India still needed 59 runs and Kaif scored the remaining runs with the tail with a match-defining 87.

#3 ICC T20 World Cup 2007 - South Africa

Yuvraj was already a regular member in the ODI side with impressive performances in India and overseas. After all, he was one of the top batsmen in ODI cricket at the time who had the ability to build an innings and perform against quality oppositions.

When the T20 World Cup was announced, the senior pros in the team decided to give it a miss, to allow youngsters to take centre-stage. An unlikely captain, MS Dhoni was chosen overnight with Yuvraj as his deputy to lead the side in the tournament.

India had a slow-start and won against Pakistan due to a bowl-out. They lost to Kiwis by 10 runs and the writing was on the wall. India had to win against England to stay in the tournament.

Against England, India were off to a flyer with Sehwag and Gambhir scoring quick fifties. Yuvraj came in at 5 announced his arrival with a couple of lusty blows to the fence.

Andrew Flintoff did the biggest mistake of his career by needling Yuvraj who combusted on Stuart Broad, smashing him for 6 sixes in an over. He scored the quickest fifty in International cricket in 12 balls and was finally dismissed for a thundering 58 from 16 balls.

Yuvraj nursed an injury and made a comeback in the all-important semi-final against Australia. He walked in to bat at 41 for 2 in 8 overs and dispatched his second ball out of Kingsmead in Durban.

He hit a 119 meter six of Brett Lee and fetched another 21 off Stuart Clarke's over. The way he stuck those towering sixes were brutal yet beautiful to watch. He scored 70 off 30 balls and India ended up with 188 in 20 overs. Australia could manage 173 and were knocked out of the tournament.

Even though he could not replicate his magic against Pakistan in the final, MS Dhoni remembers him as the catalyst who galvanized the team through his performances and led them all the way towards glory.

#4 ICC World Cup 2011 - India

Yuvraj Singh had gone through a rough patch with many calling for his head before the 2011 World Cup. MS Dhoni, his long-time mate and a good friend, backed him and made him play all the matches.

Yuvraj repaid his captain's faith by scoring important half-centuries against England, Ireland and Netherlands in the group stages. Yuvraj scored a match-winning century against the West Indies, helping India to qualify to the quarter-finals.

When India were playing the defending champions Australia, India were in all kinds of strife at 143 for 3 while chasing 261 on a difficult wicket. He had a crucial partnership with Suresh Raina and the duo chased down the score from 187 for 5 without any further hiccups.

Yuvraj failed with the bat against Pakistan in his home ground, falling for 0. He contributed with the ball picking up Asad Shafiq and Younis Khan which paved the way to India's victory against their arch-rivals in Mohali.

Yuvraj did not have a major role to play with the bat in the finals against Sri Lanka. He scored 24 and played a supporting role to MS Dhoni's 91 who led India to one of the most celebrated victories in Indian sporting history. Yuvraj won the Man of the Tournament for his all-round efforts with 362 runs and 15 wickets including 4 fifties and 1 century.

#5 Battling with Cancer - 2011 and 2012

Yuvraj Singh was struggling during the World Cup in 2011 and later he was diagnosed for Cancer. It was a heart -wrenching moment for all Indian fans to see their champion cricketer struggle with the dreaded disease. He had to forcibly take a break from cricket and focus on his treatment.

Yuvraj went to the United States of America for his treatment. He had to undergo a series of chemotherapy sessions and he had the mental strength and fortitude to bear all the pain. His body took a blow physically and he took almost a year of sabbatical from cricket. He would blood vomit during the time, had to sport a bald look due to the treatment and most importantly keep a low profile.

He decided to become a campaigner for Cancer patients and opened an NGO called "You We Can" to help Cancer Survivors.

Once his treatment got over, Yuvraj expressed his desire of getting back into action and Sourav Ganguly warned the selectors of making an emotional decision to draft him back into the side.

After a lot of debate, he was selected into the side and made an emotional comeback against New Zealand in Chennai in 2012 just before the World T20 in Sri Lanka and scored a gallant 37. He even termed that this comeback was tougher than playing his debut match for India after all the trauma he had gone through.

#6 Struggles with the bat - 2013 and 2014

Yuvraj Singh was not the same player that he was before the disease. Cancer had a blow on his body and dented his psyche pretty badly. Even though he had a good T20 series against Pakistan in late 2012, he struggled against them in the ODI series in early 2013. Yuvraj who was a marauder of spin bowling, started to become very tentative against spin bowling and Saeed Ajmal, in particular, troubled him.

After an entire year of lukewarm performances, Yuvraj was selected to play the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh. He scored an aggressive 60 off 43 balls against Australia in the league phases.

In the final against Sri Lanka, India were building the momentum with Virat Kohli going hammers and tongs at the Lankan bowling. Yuvraj came to bat in the 11th over with India at 64 for 2.

He struggled against the off-spin of Sachitra Senanayake and the death bowling of Malinga and scored an uncharacteristic 11 of 21 balls with no boundaries. India could only manage 130 for 4 in 20 overs after losing all their momentum and Sri Lanka easily chased the target. Yuvraj's slow innings was seen as one of the major reasons for the loss.

#7 Overlooked by the selectors and IPL franchises - 2018

Yuvraj Singh has been on a decline and has really found it difficult to get going in International cricket off late. He only looks like a pale shadow of the great player he once was. He was undoubtedly one of India's greatest match-winners in ODI's and T20's.

Yuvraj made a comeback against England in 2017 and scored a stroke-filled 150 and had superb 256 runs stand with his good old friend MS Dhoni. After a quickfire 56 against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy opener in 2017, he again struggled to find form with the bat.

He did not have a very good IPL either and he believed that he needs to do strength training and yo-yo test. Selectors were miffed when he decided to skip the List A games and Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy. When he was selected for Kings XI Punjab, a lot was expected of him, but he failed miserably in the 2018 IPL.

Yuvraj even though has the mental strength of a street-fighter, age and his waning reflexes are not supporting him to stage a comeback and be in contention against some promising youngsters.

Recently, he was released by the Kings XI franchise. It remains to be seen whether he finds a buyer in the next IPL Auctions.