World Cup-winning former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has decided to come out of retirement, giving in to a request from the Punjab Cricket Association more than a year after he called it quits. The Player of the Tournament at the 2011 World Cup, Yuvraj had announced his retirement from all forms of cricket last June.

T20s in focus

PCA secretary Puneet Bali was the first person to approach Yuvraj, 38, with an offer to come out of retirement for the benefit of Punjab cricket. He has agreed to resume for the state at least in the T20 format. "Initially, I wasn't sure that I wanted to take up the offer," Yuvraj was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. "I was done with domestic cricket, though I did want to continue to play in other domestic franchise-based leagues worldwide if I got permission from the BCCI.

"But I also couldn't ignore Bali's request. I gave it a lot of thought, for nearly three or four weeks, and it was almost as if I didn't even have to make a conscious decision in the end." While working with the young Punjab quartet of Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh and Anmolpreet Singh at the nets in the last few months, Yuvraj rediscovered his love and motivation for the game.