What is so special about Yuvraj Singh jersey number and what happened to it after his retirement? These are some of the questions we’ll tackle here.
One of the greatest all-rounders in world cricket, Yuvraj Singh was an aggressive and flamboyant cricketer who conquered the world wearing the Indian team jersey. Yuvraj played a wonderful brand of cricket and was crucial to Team India across all formats. He also had a big hand in India’s World Cup triumphs in 2007 and 2011.
A stylish left-handed middle-order batsman who was capable of fierce batting and hitting big shots effortlessly, Yuvraj imprinted his place in the minds and hearts of Indians with his performances in big games. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler, he was also capable of exhibiting deceiving bowling that often surprised opposition batsmen. If that’s not all, his gravity-defying fielding abilities were also enough to win matches for the Indian cricket team.
Throughout his entire career, Yuvraj Singh sported the number 12 jersey on his back and made it iconic. But what was so special about Yuvraj Singh jersey number, why did he wear it and what happened to it after retirement? Let’s discuss below:
Yuvraj Singh jersey number: Why does he wear the number ’12’?
Jersey numbers are always special to many sportsmen for various reasons. They see it as an identity. Players like Diego Maradona, Pele, Lionel Messi, and Sachin Tendulkar made the number 10 jersey iconic while the likes of MS Dhoni, Cristiano Ronaldo, and David Beckham made the number 7 jersey look cool.
Yuvraj Singh wore the number 12 jersey for India as well as his various different IPL franchises. However, he did not mindlessly opt for the number because there are genuine reasons behind it.
Yuvraj Singh, the son of former Indian cricketer and actor Yograj Singh was born in the 12th hour on the 12th of December (12/12). He also lived in Sector 12 in Chandigarh where he grew up as a kid. Thus, the number 12 is special to him and Yuvraj went on to leave his unique legacy in the world of cricket with the number 12 on his back.
Yuvraj Singh jersey number: Retirement
After starring for India in the 2011 world cup where he also won the Player of the Tournament award for his all-round performance, it came to light that Yuvraj Singh was battling cancer. He was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour in his left lung and underwent extreme chemotherapy treatment in Boston and Indianapolis in the United States of America.
Since then, he has been extremely vocal about raising awareness surrounding the dreaded disease. Through his foundation YouWeCan, Yuvraj Singh is also responsible for assisting cancer patients.
Yuvraj Singh is also a tremendous and resilient fighter and he eventually won his battle against cancer. After the third and final cycle of chemotherapy in March 2012, he got discharged from the hospital and returned to India, making his international comeback against New Zealand later that year.
Since then, he made sporadic appearances for the Indian cricket team as well as in the Indian Premier League. He became the most expensive player in the history of the IPL twice when Royal Challengers Bangalore bought him in 2014 and when Delhi Capitals (then known as Delhi Daredevils) secured his services for Rs 16 crore in IPL 2015. It remained an IPL record until it was broken by Chris Morris ahead of IPL 2021.
Yuvraj Singh eventually announced his retirement from all formats of the game on 10 June 2019. “After 25yrs in cricket, I’ve decided to move on. Cricket has given me everything I have. ThankU 4being a part of this journey. This game taught me how to fight, how to fall, to dust off, to get up again n move forward. It has been a lovely journey. See you on the other side #SteppingOut,” Yuvraj tweeted.
“Only if I could articulate what cricket has done for me, to me! But let me tell you this, cricket has given me everything I have. It is the reason why I sit here today,” Yuvraj further added. The player bid farewell to his iconic number 12 jersey as well.
Former Indian cricket Gautam Gambhir urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to retire his Yuvraj Singh jersey number 12 as a tribute to a ‘once in a lifetime cricket.’ Gambhir heaped plenty of praise on Yuvraj for his magnificent career and also urged the board to retire his number 12 jersey.
“The month of September, meanwhile, has special emotions for me. It was in this month in 2007 that we won the ICC T20 World Cup. The incredible Yuvraj Singh was in his elements. Just for the performance in that tournament and in the 2011 World Cup, I’d urge BCCI to retire the number 12 jersey that he wore. It will be a fitting tribute to a once-in-a-lifetime cricketer. Overall, our win typified how ‘keeping-it-simple’ works. Perhaps playing the inaugural T20 World Cup worked for us,” Gambhir wrote in his column for TOI.
Sachin Tendulkar is the only player whose iconic number 10 jersey was retired by BCCI as a mark of respect for his extraordinary career.
Ahead of IPL 2022, Punjab Kings, a franchise Yuvraj Singh represented for three years revealed that youngster Raj Bawa would wear the number 12 jersey once donned by Yuvraj. “Emerging talent Raj Bawa has gone with number 12 as an homage to his cricketing idol Yuvraj Singh and also because his birthday falls on 12th November,” the franchise stated on the official website.
Just like Yuvraj, Raj Bawa also has a wonderful coincidence with the number 12 jersey. While Yuvraj’s birthday is on 12 December, Raj was also born on the same day (12) in November. Besides that, Raj’s grandfather Tarlochan Singh, who played an instrumental journey in his cricket career, was also born on 12 February.
Because of these reasons, Raj Bawa, one of the breakout stars for India during the U18 World Cup, has also chosen to wear the same number. His left-handed stroke play is also reminscient of Yuvraj Singh’s brilliance.
Yuvraj Singh career at a glimpse
| Format | Matches | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 50s | 100s | Wickets | Average | Economy Rate | 5 wicket haul |
| Test | 40 | 1900 | 33.92 | 57.97 | 11 | 3 | 9 | 60.77 | 3.52 | 0 |
| ODI | 304 | 8701 | 36.55 | 87.67 | 52 | 14 | 111 | 38.68 | 5.1 | 1 |
| T20 | 231 | 4857 | 25.69 | 128.76 | 27 | 0 | 80 | 24.86 | 7.47 | 0 |
Yuvraj Singh made his international cricket entry on October 3, 2000 against Kenya. In his second match against Australia, he scored 84 off 80 deliveries against a bowling attack comprising Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, and Jason Gillespie and also won the Man of the Match award.
Probably the biggest highlight of his career is when Yuvraj put up a mind-numbing batting exhibition against England. He hit England bowler Stuart Broad for six sixes in a single over to score the fastest half-century in international cricket, bringing it up in only 12 balls. Yuvraj was one of the best players for India during that World T20 in South Africa in 2007 which helped India become the inaugural T20 world champions.
His exhibitions of effortless power-hitting, smart bowling and electric fielding were also on display during the 2011 World Cup that was held in India. He scored 362 runs during that tournament which included a century and four half-centuries. He also took 15 wickets and won four Man of the Match awards. In the process, Yuvraj became the first all-rounder to score over 300 runs and take 15 wickets in a single World Cup campaign.
FAQs
What was Harbhajan Singh’s jersey number?
Harbhajan Singh wore the jersey number 3 for the Indian cricket team as well as his state team Punjab.
What was the jersey number of Sachin Tendulkar?
Sachin Tendulkar wore the iconic jersey number 10 made famous by the likes of Pele, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.
What is MS Dhoni’s jersey number?
MS Dhoni wears the jersey number 7. He is a big Manchester United fan and wore the jersey in honour of United legends like George Best, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Who wears the number 12 jersey in Punjab Kings now?
Raj Angad Bawa, one of the stars for India in the 2022 U18 World Cup, wears the number 12 jersey for Punjab Kings.
