Yuvraj Singh- A throwback to classier times

Yuzvendra Chahal was not the only one who remembered that immortal night in 2007. A young Indian team, sans established stars, was looking to establish their footing on the world stage that year. The inaugural ICC T20 World Cup was taking place in South Africa and many things were at stake.

T20 cricket, itself, had a point to prove. Will it capture the global imagination or be dismissed as something of a comic novelty? Most felt it will not be taken seriously in the global scheme of things where Test cricket ruled the roost, a format so vastly different from the adrenaline-riding hurly-burly of T20, that, despite being the same sport, seemed like something out of a parallel universe for some.

Durban, sixes galore

That's why, the cultural impact of the six sixes that Yuvraj Singh hit off Stuart Broad in Durban on that night can never be dismissed. It established T20 cricket as an inexorable force that was the future of the game, the format that will spur the globalisation of the sport, the way it might be played in events such as the Olympics and Asian Games.

Yuvraj seemed to be in a zone all of his own as he took Broad to all corners of the stadium. His lazy elegance transformed into a frenzy that was as fearsome as it was beautiful. Chahal must have had his heart in his mouth when, on Thursday, the southpaw seemed to have turned back the clock to launch the leggie for three consecutive sixes in Bangalore.

The leggie admitted to have felt that he was in Broad's shoes. However, everyone was brought back to Earth as Yuvraj holed out to long off, attempting another maximum. We were back in 2019.

But the magic of Durban had been briefly recreated.

That performance in 2007 also led to the birth of a new Indian team under the canny leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. That England victory made them dream, a dream that reached fruition in a thrilling final against arch-rivals Pakistan as India were crowned the inaugural World T20 champions. The culmination of this project came in the 50-over World Cup final in Mumbai in 2011 as Dhoni's Men in Blue pulled off a high-pressure chase to claim the most coveted trophy in World Cricket.

Pinnacle, fall from grace

Yuvraj played the cricket of his life during that World Cup. His batting was splendid, his occasional left-arm spin effective and his fielding inspirational. A man-of-the-series performance if ever there was one. However, that was the pinnacle of Yuvraj's on-field exploits.

What followed after the marquee event, was shocking for cricket fans as his cancer diagnosis was revealed. His fightback was possibly a much greater story than the 2011 World Cup as he beat the dreaded disease to eventually make it back to the national team. Not everything was rosy though.

Yuvraj seemed like a shadow of his former self, only showing flashes of his past brilliance. The nadir was hit, ironically, in the 2014 World T20 final against Sri Lanka. He struggled to find his timing, wasting balls as the pressure mounted. Sri Lanka ran out comfortable winners on the night and in Yuvraj, a villain was discovered.

IPL 2019 and MI

Yuvraj could have called time on an illustrious career but he chose to dig deep in the domestic circuit. The unforgiving world of franchise cricket, however, led to him not being picked by any side in the first round of auctions this year before Mumbai Indians came to the rescue. MI, in fact, had to state that they were not doing the former champion any favour by picking him.

Watching him bat in this IPL has been a revelation though. His dogged half-century in a losing cause in the opener against Delhi was a purely aesthetic delight. In the muscle power that dominates the IPL scene, Yuvraj's signature high backlift and classical follow-through are a throwback to older times, a thing of beauty that stands the test of time.

His natural proclivity for timing the ball was again on display against Royal Challengers Bangalore after his exploits against Delhi and now, there are calls on social networking sites to bring him back into the World Cup 2019 fold.

As unrealistic as they may sound, the spirit of these fans is signified by that tweet by one of his fans Iwhich said he wanted to watch the IPL to see Yuvi in action again and his tournament was complete after the first match itself with his icon reaching a classy fifty. The result of the match or the tournament were of little importance.