Yuvraj Singh's IPL Journey: First IPL Season vs Last IPL Season performance comparison

Former India all-rounder and two-time World Cup winner, Yuvraj Singh’s IPL career saw him enter the league as one of the biggest superstars in 2008 and sign off as a two-time IPL champion in 2019.

When the IPL began in 2008, Yuvraj walked in as a national hero. Months earlier, he had lit headlined the 2007 T20 World Cup with his six sixes off Stuart Broad and his brilliant run throughout the inaugural marquee event. Eventually, he was named the icon player and captain of the Punjab franchise, expected to be the face of the team.

The all-rounder's 2008 campaign was impressive as he scored 299 runs from 15 matches, including one fifty, at a strike rate of 162.50, one of the best that season. In that competition alone, he smashed 24 boundaries and 19 sixes. With the ball, he picked just three wickets at an economy of 9.22. His captaincy also played a crucial role. Punjab finished second in the league stage, but eventually suffered a defeat at the hands of the Chennai Super Kings in 2nd Semi-Final.

Though he was primarily seen as a batting superstar, the 2009 season saw him bag two hat-tricks in the same season, both in South Africa. Yuvraj remains the only player in IPL history with two hat-tricks in a single edition. Between 2008 and 2019, Yuvraj featured for six IPL teams, including Punjab, Pune Warriors, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Mumbai Indians. His career saw historic auction bids, fluctuating form, changes in role and position, and the effects of his battle with cancer.

He won his first IPL title with Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016, making crucial contributions in the playoffs and final. By the time he entered the 2019 season, the veteran was far from his peak. A poor 2018 season led to him being unsold in the first round of the 2019 auction. Eventually, the Mumbai Indians picked him up at his base price of INR 1 crore.

For Mumbai, Yuvraj played only four matches, scoring 98 runs, including a 53. His strike rate (130.66) and average (24.50) weren’t poor, but Mumbai’s batting order led to him having limited opportunities. After two failures, he was sidelined for the rest of the season. Still, his final season ended on a high note, with his second IPL title, as MI lifted the trophy in 2019.

Yuvraj Singh's IPL 2008 vs IPL 2013 performance comparison