"A rockstar, a match winner, a great junior and a very good friend of mine, Yuvraj has retired from international cricket. I remember for the first time I played against him in 2003 in Centurion during the World Cup where he played a beautiful knock... I went to him and talked to him. I was deeply impressed by his in-depth knowledge of the game," Akhtar said in his YouTube channel.
Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi, on Monday, took to Twitter to praise Yuvraj, saying that the amazing Southpaw was a brilliant fielder with big match temperament
"Congratulations on a fantastic career Yuvraj Singh. You were an amazing batsman and a brilliant fielder with big match temperament. Your fighting ability is very inspiring, we spent great time together. All the very best in your life ahead," tweeted Afridi on Monday.
One of India's greatest ODI cricketers, Yuvraj Singh announced his retirement from all formats of cricket on Monday. The elegant Southpaw from the beautiful city of Chandigarh could never really track the Test code but remain an enigma when it comes to the 50-overs format of the game.
As Yuvraj called time on International cricket, the star hitter will never be forgotten for giving India two World Cup titles in 2011 and 2007. Yuvraj was India's 2011 World Cup hero which he won while suffering from a rare germ cell cancer and the other one while coughing blood.