The Cricket Player Number 12
The cricket player wearing jersey number 12 displayed impressive skill and commitment. His focus on the game was evident as he made every move count, from fielding to batting. His effort on the field was unmatched, and he worked hard to support his team. The way he handled each situation showed his deep understanding of the game. Fans cheered him on as he gave his best performance. His passion and focus made him stand out, and it was clear that his love for cricket drove him to always do his best.
Yuvraj Singh – india
When Yuvraj Singh is playing well, he hits the ball as perfectly and as far as anyone can. When he’s not playing well, he can look so awkward that you forget he’s capable of hitting the ball clean and long. Yuvraj has usually played better in limited-overs cricket, where he can be both effortless and aggressive, compared to Tests. However, since coming back from battling a rare cancer in 2012, his form and consistency have been in decline. Early in his career, his athleticism and clever left-arm spin made him a key player for India in one-day cricket, especially during the team’s change in the early 2000s.
Yuvraj’s father, Yograj, who played one Test for India, was very focused on making his son a cricket player. He was so determined that he once took a skating medal off Yuvraj’s neck and threw it out of the car, saying, “From now on, you are going to play cricket.” After that, Yuvraj dedicated himself fully to cricket, leaving behind a comfortable life in Punjab at 15 to travel in crowded trains carrying his kit. By 18, he was impressing on the big stage, scoring against a strong Australian team in just his second ODI at the 2000 Champions Trophy.
Yuvraj soon became a key part of India’s middle-order, building strong partnerships first with Rahul Dravid and later with MS Dhoni. Both players praised Yuvraj for his ability to score runs easily. His importance to the team was clear when he was dropped from the ODI team in 2010, after being a regular player for so long. Yuvraj’s ODI career was full of unforgettable moments, most notably his role in India’s 2011 World Cup victory, where he scored 362 runs, took 15 wickets, won four Man-of-the-Match awards, and was named Player of the Tournament. This performance was even more impressive than his achievement in the 2007 World T20, where he hit six sixes in one over off Stuart Broad.
However, Yuvraj struggled in Tests, facing difficulties against both fast and spin bowling. Apart from a few standout innings, like a century in Lahore, a 61 for 4 against Pakistan, and an unbeaten 85 in a successful chase in Chennai, his Test career was less successful.
The 2011 World Cup win was the peak of Yuvraj’s career, but soon after, he faced his biggest challenge when he was diagnosed with cancer, requiring months of treatment in the USA. After completing chemotherapy in April 2012, he returned home and was quickly named to India’s squad for the World T20 in Sri Lanka that August.
In January 2013, Yuvraj’s poor form and fitness led to him being dropped from the team. But he came back fitter and slimmer after a training stint in France, scoring a brilliant 77 off 35 balls in a T20I against Australia. However, his inconsistency meant he was left out of the ODI team after India’s tour of South Africa in December 2013.
Despite his form dipping, Yuvraj continued to be highly sought after in the IPL auctions, earning contracts worth millions. He was bought for $2.33 million by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014, $2.67 million by Delhi Daredevils in 2015, and $1.04 million by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016. However, he couldn’t live up to the hype on the field, with one of his lowest points being a poor 21-ball 11 in the final of the 2014 World T20, which saw India lose the title to Sri Lanka.
In January 2016, Yuvraj made another return to the Indian team for the T20 series in Australia, but an ankle injury cut his tournament short. He didn’t have a great World T20, scoring only 52 runs at an average of 13.00 and a strike rate of 100. At 34, his future in international cricket looked uncertain.
However, Yuvraj’s impressive performance in the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy season, where he scored 672 runs at an average of 84, earned him a recall to the Indian ODI squad in early 2017, marking his first ODI appearance since 2013.
Quinton de Kock – South Africa
Quinton de Kock became known for his bold batting and strong wicketkeeping, drawing comparisons to cricket legends like Adam Gilchrist and Mark Boucher early in his career. By the time he was 21, he had tied the record for the most consecutive centuries in One Day Internationals (ODIs) with three, a record later broken by Kumar Sangakkara. A year later, he had established himself in all three formats of international cricket for South Africa.
De Kock initially played baseball and even thought about moving to the U.S. to pursue it. However, his father encouraged him to stick with cricket. He went to King Edward VII High School, where famous players like Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie studied, and he was chosen to play for the South African U-19 team, which he briefly captained. He also finished as the top scorer for South Africa in the 2012 junior World Cup in Australia.
That same year, he caught the attention of national selectors after a strong performance in a match-winning partnership with McKenzie in the Champions League T20 against Mumbai Indians. He also ranked fourth in the first-class cricket rankings in the 2012-13 season.
Although his international career didn’t start off strong—he struggled in matches against New Zealand and Sri Lanka in 2012 and 2013—he scored his first ODI century against Pakistan later in 2013. He then hit three consecutive centuries against India, followed by his Test debut in early 2014.
In 2015, an ankle injury almost kept him out of the World Cup, but he recovered in time. However, his performance in the tournament and a series against Bangladesh wasn’t great, and he was dropped from the team. He spent time with the A team, improving his game.
De Kock’s first Test century came in 2016 against England in Centurion, and he followed it up with another century against Australia in Adelaide, helping South Africa win the series 2-1. He also found success in T20 cricket, scoring his first half-century in the T20 World Cup that year, where he was South Africa’s top batter. In the Indian Premier League (IPL), he played an important role for the Mumbai Indians, helping them win two consecutive titles by opening the batting and keeping wicket.
In late 2021, de Kock made a surprising decision to retire from Test cricket to focus more on the white-ball formats.
