Former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh opened up about the biggest regret of his career. He regretted having played only 40 Tests in his career and expressed his disappointment, saying that he was 12th man in 45 games.

Yuvraj Singh was one of the generational cricketers that India had produced. A true all-round batsman who contributed with his overs and provided the team with crucial breakthroughs besides scoring a ton of runs.

Yuvraj Singh ended his career as a white-ball giant and was the main reason why India won the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 World Cup, where he was the Man of the Tournament. He played a very important role in making the team a great force and many children even considered him an idol.

While Yuvraj Singh was a core member of the Indian white-ball cricket team, he failed to become a regular in Tests despite having a good record. The all-rounder had to miss out due to stuntmen like Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and others.

Yuvraj Singh admitted that he found it difficult to break into the Test team due to lack of space in the team. But he mentioned that he gave 100% of himself for them even when he was on the bench. Speaking to the media, he explained (quoted by PTI):

“My only regret is that I could have played more Tests. I played 40 Tests and was 12th man in 45 Tests. It was an era when Virender Sehwag, who was a middle-order batsman, had to open. There was Dada (Sourav Ganguly), who was the captain, then (VVS) Laxman, (Rahul) Dravid, Sachin (Tendulkar).

“It was very difficult to enter. But I always gave 100 percent as a team man, that’s more important to me. “It is a very great honor.”

Yuvraj Singh played 40 Tests in his career and scored 1900 runs in those games at an average of around 34. He scored 11 centuries and 3 tons in his career. Apart from this, he also picked 9 wickets.

It’s all destiny: Yuvraj Singh on not becoming Indian captain

Furthermore, Yuvraj Singh was asked if he could have become the captain of the team. Responding to this, he highlighted that during his time the players did not have many opportunities. He pointed out how in the current era there are three different teams with different captains.

Yuvraj Singh was quick to point out the longevity of Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni as captains and added that he has no regrets about not captaining the team. He explained:

“Now you see, sometimes, 2 or 3 captains of whomever you want. But you have to accept it. Now we have three teams. In those days we didn’t have those opportunities. Dada, then Mahi was a very good captain. Whoever is destined to be captain, becomes captain. Everything is destiny. No regrets.”

Overall throughout his career, Yuvraj Singh scored 11,778 runs and 17 centuries. He was no idiot with the ball as he took a total of 148 wickets across the three formats. It is fair to say that India are still unable to find a replacement for him and are struggling to get players like him.