Yuvraj Singh receives a special memento ahead of his 300th ODI match

Indian all-rounder and southpaw Yuvraj Singh completed his 300th game in an Indian jersey following the second semi-final clash against Bangladesh to set up a date with arch-rivals Pakistan in the finals of the tournament. Yuvraj received a special memento from the former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly ahead of the semi-final victory over neighbours Bangladesh.

It was the left-handed batsman Ganguly, who gave the young all-rounder an opportunity in the squad when Yuvraj made his debut against Kenya in an ICC-Knock out match. Yuvraj, further went on to admire Ganguly rating him as the best Indian captain ahead of his close friend and World-cup winning skipper MS Dhoni.

“My favourite captain was Sourav Ganguly. I learned a lot from him and my career flourished under him the most. He infused the feeling in us that we could win a series abroad.” He said following his felicitation.

If it was not for Ganguly’s support and advice, the all-rounder would not have sustained much in the blue jersey for the national team with the former skipper backing him up even while the all-rounder was not performing to his potential. Ganguly, who was a strict leader back in those days was the right pairing for a fun-loving personality such as Yuvraj’s.

? A special presentation for @YUVSTRONG12 ahead of his 300th ODI for ??#BANvIND #CT17 pic.twitter.com/n6Noy5elp9

— ICC (@ICC) June 15, 2017

Fifth Indian to reach the 300-club

The 35-year-old from Chandigarh became the fifth Indian cricketer to reach 300 ODI’s with Mohammed Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid having played more than 300 games for the country while MS Dhoni is yet to make it to the 300-club.

Talking about his landmark game, the 35-year-old said, “It is a big achievement for me to complete 300 games for India. When I started playing I was just happy to play for the country. Been a long journey and there have been a few ups and downs. Not looking to do anything extraordinary, just contribute to the team’s cause. The team is bigger than my landmark.”

The southpaw has been the backbone of the Indian middle order for the 17th year running now and with the form that he displayed against Pakistan, it would take a special knock from someone else to take his place in the Indian playing XI.