Yuvraj Singh is an Indian cricketer. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since the year 2000.
Life of Yuvraj Singh:
Yuvraj Singh was born on 12th December 1981 in Chandigarh to former Indian cricketer and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh.
Yuvraj Singh had been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his left lung and subsequently underwent chemotherapy treatment in the Cancer Research Institute in Boston in USA as well as in the Medicine Facilities in Indianapolis in Indiana.
On March 2012, Yuvraj Singh was discharged from the hospital after completing the third and final cycle of chemotherapy and he returned to India in April.
Career of Yuvraj Singh:
Yuvraj Singh first came into attention when he captained the Under-19 Punjab cricket team in the final of the Cooch Behar Trophy match against Bihar U-19 squad.
He then was selected for the U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka on January 2000 where he was a part of a team led by Mohammed Kaif which won the tournament. Yuvraj was then subsequently selected in the year 2000 for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.
Playing Style of Yuvraj Singh:
Yuvraj is a left handed batsman but can also bowl part time left arm orthodox spin. He is regarded as a better batsman against fast bowling. He cites the Indian Oil Cup 2005 as the turning point of his life.
Yuvraj Singh is also one of the athletic fielders in the Indian team, fielding primarily at point and covers with a good aim at the stumps. He is a player with a natural stroke with an aggressive style of play.
This can be seen by his strike rate of above 150 in T20 internationals and just below 90 in ODIs. A Cricinfo report published during the late 2005 showed that since the year 1999, Yuvraj was the most prolific fielder in affecting ODI run outs and of those prolific fielders he had the second highest rate of affecting a run out.
Test Career of Yuvraj Singh:
Yuvraj made his test debut against the New Zealand team in Mohali in late 2003 in front of his home Yuvraj Singhground in Punjab. He scored his first test century in a losing effort against Pakistan in the second test in Lahore.
He then again played as Virender Sehwag’s opening partner but after two poor matches in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, he was dropped in favor of Gautam Gambhir.
He was later recalled to the Test team batting in number 6 for the away series against Zimbabwe in August 2005 after Sachin Tendulkar was sidelines with a tennis elbow. He then retained his position in the test team after Ganguly was axed following a row with Coach Greg Chappell.
He scored a second test century in the third and final test in Pakistan in the series in January 2006 which India lost. However, Yuvraj struggled in the year 2006, failing to pass 50 in six tests against England and West Indies.
His injury in late 2006 allowed the return of former captain Saurav Ganguly to the team, who subsequently top scored in the series. Yuvraj Singh was also included in the India’s test squad in November 2007 to face Pakistan, however he was not included in the playing 11 for the first test.
Yuvraj was then picked in the third test as Sachin Tendulkar was injured. Yuvraj Singh had a very poor test series against Australia during India’s tour in 2007-08.
After the failure, he was dropped in the remainder of the tests. However, later in December 2008, Yuvraj scored 85 not out and put on an unbroken partnership of 163 with Sachin Tendulkar to defeat England in the first test in Chennai.
This was the fourth highest successful run chase in history and the highest in India. Yuvraj Singh was also the Vice Captain of the ODI team from late 2007 to late 2008.
Twenty-Twenty Career of Yuvraj Singh:
Yuvraj has an astounding 20-20 career to recount for. On 19th September 2007, in the match against England in the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 Super 8 match held in Kingsmead in Durban, Yuvraj Singh hit six sixes in an over of Stuart Broad. This helped him to reach the fastest fifty ever in a Twenty20 game, off just 12 balls and also the fastest in any form of international cricket.
This was the fourth time that six sixed have been hit in one over in senior cricket, the first time in Twenty20 cricket and the first time in any form of international cricket against a bowler from a test playing nation. He also hit the longest six of the tournament of 119 meters off the ball by Australian bowler Brett Lee.
Yuvraj Singh was awarded a Porsche 911 for his 6 sixes achievement by the vice president of the BCCI, Lalit Modi. He is the first Indian player to cross 100 sixes in Twenty20 matches. Yuvraj Singh also scored 70 runs of 30 balls and went on to win the Man of the match award against Australia in the World Twenty20 semifinals in Durban.
After his treatment, Yuvraj Singh is now aiming at resuming cricket in the World Twenty20. He has been included in 30 probable for the tournament to be played in Sri Lanka from September 2012.
Yuvraj Singh's Indian Premier League Performance:
Yuvraj Singh was an iconic player and the captain for IPL team Kings XI Punjab in the first two seasons. On 1st May 2009, Yuvraj Singh picked up his first hat trick in T20 cricket against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Kingsmead in Durban.
In that match he dismissed Robin Uthappa, Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis. On 17th may 2009, Yuvraj picked up his second Twenty20 hat trick against Deccan Chargers in the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.
In that match he dismissed Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Symonds and Venugopal Rao. Later in the 2011 IPL, Yuvraj Singh was selected as a captain in the newly formed Pune Warriors team.
County Cricket Career of Yuvraj Singh:
Yuvraj Singh was signed by the Yorkshire cricket team after the 2003 World Cup and he became the second only Indian after Tendulkar to represent the county. However, he had a disappointing performance though it was a good learning experience for him.
Commercial choices by Yuvraj Singh:
Yuvraj Singh was signed by Microsoft to be a brand ambassador for the Xbox 360 video game console when it was launched in India in the year 2006. Yuvraj has appeared in advertisements for a number of brands.
The Code Masters cricket video game Brian Lara International Cricket 2007 was released with his endorsement in India titled ‘Yuvraj Singh International Cricket 2007’.
The Bollywood animated film, Jumbo features Yuvraj Singh’s voice. The upcoming animated full length feature film titled ‘Captain India’ features Yuvraj Singh as the main protagonist.
Yuvraj Singh Foundation:
On July 2012, Yuvraj Singh launched his foundation ‘YouWeCan’. This foundation is meant to fight cancer by spreading awareness about it, the benefits of its early detection and fighting the stigma attached to it.
Achievements by Yuvraj Singh:
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) nominated Yuvraj Singh for the Arjuna Award, after his Man of the Series performance in the 2011 World Cup
