Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh (born 12 December 1981) is an Indian former international cricketer who played in all formats of the game. An all-rounder who batted left-handed in the middle order and bowled slow left-arm orthodox, he has won 7 Player of the Series awards in One Day International cricket, which is the joint third-highest by an Indian cricketer, shared with former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly. He is the son of former Indian cricketer and actor Yograj Singh.

Singh was a member of the Indian cricket team in ODIs from 2000 to 2017 and played his first Test match in October 2003. He was the vice-captain of the Indian ODI team between 2007 and 2008. In a match against England at the 2007 World Twenty20, he famously hit six sixes in one over bowled by Stuart Broad—a feat performed only three times previously in any form of senior cricket, and never in an international match between two teams with Test match status. In the same match, he set the record for the fastest fifty in Twenty20 Internationals and in all T20 cricket, reaching 50 runs in 12 balls, which was a record for fastest half century in International cricket, until it was broken by Dipendra Airee during 2023 Asian Games but Singh still holds the record in the ICC Cricket World Cup and among ICC full member nations. During the 2011 World Cup, he became the first player to take a 5-wicket haul and score a 50 in the same World Cup match. During the 2011 World Cup, Singh played eight innings in nine matches and scored 362 runs at a remarkable average of 90.50. He also took 15 wickets in the tournament, maintaining an economy rate of 5.02.

In 2011, Singh was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his left lung and underwent chemotherapy treatment in Boston and Indianapolis. In March 2012, he was discharged from the hospital after completing the third and final cycle of chemotherapy and returned to India in April. He made his international comeback in a Twenty20 match in September against New Zealand shortly before the 2012 World Twenty20.

In 2012, Singh was conferred with the Arjuna Award, India's second highest sporting award by the Government of India. In 2014, he was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour. At the 2014 IPL auction, Royal Challengers Bengaluru bought Yuvraj for an all-time high price of ₹14 crore and, in 2015, the Delhi Capitals bought him for ₹16 crore, making him the second most expensive player ever to be sold in the IPL until Chris Morris was sold to the Rajasthan Royals for a record ₹16.25 crore in February 2021. In February 2014, he was honoured with the "Most Inspiring Sportsperson of the Year Award" by FICCI.

On 10 June 2019, Singh announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket. He last represented India in June 2017, against the West Indies. His request for a return to domestic cricket and IPL was turned down by the BCCI over his participation in the Global T20 Canada in Canada and Abu Dhabi T10 in the United Arab Emirates.

Early years and personal life

Yuvraj Singh was born in a Punjabi Jat Sikh family to Yograj Singh, a former Indian cricketer, and Shabnam Singh. Tennis and roller skating were Yuvraj's favourite sports during his childhood and he was quite good at both. He had also won the National Under-14 Roller Skating Championship. His father threw away the medal and told him to forget skating and concentrate on cricket. He would take Yuvraj to training every day.

Singh studied at the DAV Public School in Chandigarh. He completed his graduate degree in commerce from DAV College, Panjab University, Chandigarh. He also did two short roles as achild star in Mehndi Sagna Di and Putt Sardara.

On 12 November 2015, Singh got engaged to British actress Hazel Keech and married her on 30 November 2016. The couple had their first child, a boy named Orion, on 25 January 2022. Their second child, a girl named Aura, was born on 25 August 2023.

Career

Youth career

Singh began his career with Punjab Under-16s at the age of 13 years and 11 months in November of the 1995–96 season against Jammu and Kashmir-16s. In 1996–97, he was promoted to Punjab Under-19s and scored 137 not out against Himachal Pradesh Under-19s.

Singh made his first-class debut in late-1997 against Odisha during the 1997–98 Ranji Trophy but was dismissed for a duck opening the innings. His first break-out performance came in the Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy Final of 1999 against Bihar at Jamshedpur; Bihar was all out with a score of 357 and Singh batted at three for Punjab and made 358 runs himself. He represented India in the series against Sri Lanka Under-19s in India in February 1999. In the third ODI, Singh scored 89 runs from 55 balls. In 1999-2000 Ranji Trophy, he scored 149 against Haryana.

In the 2000 Under-19 Cricket World Cup which India won under the captaincy of Mohammad Kaif, Singh's all-round performance earned him the "Player of the Tournament" award and a call-up to the national squad. His performance in the tournament included 68 off 62 and 4/36 against New Zealand in a group stage match, and a quickfire 58 off 25 balls against Australia in the semifinal. Singh was subsequently selected in 2000 for the first intake of cricketers in the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.

International breakthrough

Singh was selected in the Indian squad for the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy on the back of his impressive performances for the Under-19 team. He made his international debut against Kenya in the pre-quarterfinal. He bowled four overs conceding 16 runs but did not get to bat. In the quarterfinal match against Australia, Singh won the man of the match for his innings of 84 out of 80 balls, against a pace attack consisting of Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie, that helped India win by 20 runs. In the semifinal against South Africa, he scored 41 and picked 1/15. He scored only 18 against New Zealand in the final, which India lost. The tournament was followed by a tri-series involving India, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Singh scored just 55 runs in five innings at an average of 11. Singh averaged 15.50 in the ODI series against the touring Zimbabwe team in December 2000 after which he was dropped from the team.

Singh made his comeback during the 2001 Coca-Cola Cup in Sri Lanka. He scored a crucial 98* against Sri Lanka in the fifth match of an otherwise disappointing series with the bat. However, he proved to be useful with the ball as he took 8 wickets at an average of 27. In the Standard Bank triangular series involving hosts South Africa, India and Kenya, Singh managed to score only 69 runs from 6 innings, including a duck in the final against South Africa. Following this, Dinesh Mongia and Hemang Badani were chosen over Singh in the squad for the home series against England in January 2002.

He returned to domestic cricket in early 2002. After a disappointing run in the Ranji knockouts, Singh struck 209 for North Zone against South Zone in a Duleep Trophy match in March 2002. He was immediately drafted into the national squad for the final two ODIs against Zimbabwe with India trailing the series 1–2. Singh made an impact in his return match at Hyderabad, scoring an unbeaten 80 off just 60 balls, taking India to a five-wicket win and levelling the series. He won the Man of the Match award for his efforts. In the final ODI at Guwahati, Singh made 75 runs from 52 balls, sharing a 157-run fifth-wicket partnership with Mongia who scored his career-best unbeaten 159, to help India post a total of 333 in their 50 overs. India went on to win the game by 101 runs and the series 3–2.

2002 NatWest Series

After winning the ODI series in the West Indies 2–1, where Singh managed scores of only 1 and 10, the Indian team toured England in June for the NatWest triangular series, featuring England, Sri Lanka, and India, and a four-match Test series against the hosts. In the first match at Lord's, Singh won the man of the match for his all-round performance (3/39 and 64*) as India successfully chased down England's total of 271. In the next match against Sri Lanka, he scored 31 and shared a crucial 60-run sixth-wicket partnership with Mohammad Kaif to set up another successful run-chase. India's next match against England was washed out due to rain after Singh had scored an unbeaten 40 off 19 balls to take India to 285/4 in their 50 overs. Singh's knock of 37, along with a fifty from Rahul Dravid, helped India recover from 59/4 to reach a target of 188 posted by Sri Lanka. This win eliminated Sri Lanka from the series with another round of matches still to be played. He had scores of 5 and 8 in the final round of matches but proved to be useful with the ball as he picked one wicket in each of the two games. At the end of the round-robin matches, India topped the points table with 19 points while England finished second with 15 points.