BIRMINGHAM: In a chequered career that has seen several highs and some staggering lows, the flamboyant Yuvraj Singh will touch upon a special milestone when he takes the field against Bangladesh in the Champions Trophy semifinal here on Thursday. The 35-year-old Punjabi, a vital cog in India’s triumph in the 2007 World T20 and 2011 World Cup, will become just the fifth Indian to earn 300 ODI caps, an incredible achievement for a cricketer whose career seemed over when he was struck by cancer six years ago. To the amazement of everybody, the southpaw not only battled the dreaded disease successfully but fought through subsequent loss of form to stake his claim in the Indian team. It’s only fitting that Yuvraj reaches the landmark moment in an event where he made his debut way back in 2000 at Nairobi. “It’s a big achievement for me, to play 300 games in my career,” said Yuvraj following an intense ‘nets’ session here on Wednesday. “It’s a huge honour. When I started playing for India I was happy playing just one game. But I’ve come a long way. There have been ups and downs and I’ve had to go through a lot but still managed to get to 300.” Yuvraj, a definite starter until the start of this decade, has had to work extremely hard to stay relevant when competition has gotten tougher. Having tasted enormous success, he could have easily walked away with his superstar status intact. However, driven by an insatiable hunger for success, Yuvraj has proved through sheer determination one can just keep going higher and higher. “I think the biggest quality would be to never to give up, keep pushing no matter what obstacles come in your life. That’s what I tell the younger guys — never to back down. You have to keep on working the same way whether you are having a good time or a bad time. Be consistent and be persistent. I think to play for India is not that difficult, but to sustain it is. “So I think you need to have the determination to never give up and believe in yourself. Selfbelief is key because when things are not going well for you, people have their own opinion. So at that time it’s very important to believe in yourself that you’ve done it in the past and now it is the time you can do it again,” reflected Yuvraj.
