When Yuvraj Singh Gave Up Pace Bowling To Become A Batsman

Former Indian all-rounder engaged in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda and spoke on a wide variety of topics. Yuvraj Singh spoke on his comeback to cricket after a battle with cancer during the peak and the closing stages of his career. Amid this, the World Cup-winning athlete made one of the most surprising revelations about himself.

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Yuvraj Singh retired from all forms of cricket in June 2019 amongst the most successful all-rounders produced by India. The 38-year old played an instrumental role in India’s T20 World Cup victory in 2007 and 50-over triumph in 2011, both under MS Dhoni. In the latter, Yuvraj earned the man of the tournament award for taking 15 wickets with his left-arm spin and scoring above 360 runs.

Coming to the surprising revelation, Yuvraj Singh stated that when he attended the Bishan Singh Bedi Camp in Palam, he was a fast bowler. Being not a batsman, the southpaw went on to score a hundred in a match. When on 90, he hit Angad Bedi for two sixes with the ball landing outside the ropes.

“I was in Bishan Singh Bedi’s camp in Palam,” Yuvraj told SportsKeeda. “I was about 11-12 years old. I was a seamer; a fast bowler. I wasn’t a batsman at the time. I remember going and batting at six, and I scored a hundred in that match. I was batting on 90 with not a single six. One left-arm spinner came; I think it was Angad [Bedi]. I hit him for two sixes and the ball landed outside the ropes. At 11-12, you don’t have that kind of power,” the left-handed batsman said.

“That was the day I realised I could bat too” : Yuvraj Singh

That day it dawned upon the Chandigarh-born cricketer that he could bat too. Due to his back problem, he switched to bowling spin. Across formats, he took 148 scalps.

“That was the day I realised I could bat too. I thought I could be a seaming all-rounder, but due to my back, I switched to spin. I broke my bat, but I’m glad it happened because without it I wouldn’t have talent of batting,” he added.

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