Yuvraj Singh

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Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh at a promotional event in January 2013.
Personal information
Born
12 December 1981 (age 32)
Chandigarh, India
Nickname Yuvi
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Batting style Left-handed
Bowling style Slow left-arm orthodox
Role All-rounder
Relations Yograj Singh (father)
International information
National side
India
Test debut (cap 247) 16 October 2003 v New Zealand
Last Test 5 December 2012 v England
ODI debut (cap 134) 3 October 1999 v Kenya
Last ODI 11 December 2013 v South Africa
T20I debut (cap 15) 13 September 2007 v Scotland
Last T20I 06 April 2014 v Sri Lanka
Domestic team information
Years Team
1996present Punjab
2003 Yorkshire
20082010 Kings XI Punjab
20112013 Pune Warriors India
2014present Royal Challengers Bangalore
Career statistics
Competition Test ODIs T20I FC
Matches 40 292 34 106
Runs scored 1900 8329 868 6829
Batting average 33.93 36.37 33.38 44.92
100s/50s 3/11 13/51 0/7 20/32
Top score 169 139 77* 209
Balls bowled 931 14988 316 2508
Wickets 9 111 23 28
Bowling average 60.77 38.18 16.22 51.78
5 wickets in
innings
0 1 0 1
10 wickets in
match
0 0 0 0
Best bowling 2/9 5/31 4/17 5/94
Catches/stumpings 31/- 92/- 9/- 97/-
Source: Cricinfo, 5 December 2013
Yuvraj Singh ( pronunciation (help info)) (born 12 December 1981) is an Indian international
cricketer. He is an all-rounder who bats left-handed in the middle-order and bowls slow left-arm
orthodox. He is the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi actor Yograj Singh. Yuvraj has
been a member of the Indian cricket team in ODIs since 2000 and played his first Test match in
2003. He was the vice-captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008. He was the Man of
the Tournament in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, and one of the top performers at the 2007
ICC World Twenty20, both of which India won. 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 Test cricket teams.
In 2011, Yuvraj was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his left lung and underwent
chemotherapy treatment in Boston and Indianapolis.
[1][2]
In March 2012, he was discharged from
the hospital after completing the third and final cycle of chemotherapy and returned to India in
April.
[3][4]
He made his international comeback in a Twenty20 match in September against New
Zealand shortly before the 2012 World Twenty20.
Yuvraj was conferred with the Arjuna Award, India's second highest sporting award, in the year
2012 by the President of India Pranab Mukherjee.
[5]
In 2014, he was awarded the Padma Shri,
India's fourth highest civilian honour.
Contents
1 Early years and personal life
2 Career
o 2.1 Youth career
o 2.2 International breakthrough
o 2.3 2002 NatWest Series
o 2.4 2002/032004
o 2.5 20052006: Revival in form
o 2.6 2007-2011
o 2.7 2012-2014
3 Playing style
4 Indian Premier League
o 4.1 Season by season at IPL
5 Centuries
o 5.1 Test centuries
o 5.2 ODI centuries
6 Commercial interests
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
Early years and personal life
Yuvraj was born to parents Yograj Singh and Shabnam Singh.
[6][7][8][9][10]
After his parents
divorced, Yuvraj chose to stay with his mother.
[11]
Tennis and roller skating were Yuvraj's
favorite sports during his childhood and he was quite good at both. He had also won the National
U-14 Roller Skating Championship. His father threw away the medal and told him to forget
skating and concentrate on cricket.
[12]
He would take Yuvraj to training every day. He studied at
the DAV Public School in Chandigarh. Yuvraj also did two short roles as child "star", Mehndi
Sajda Di and Putt Sardara.
Career
Youth career
Yuvraj broke into the Punjab Under-16s at the age of 13 years and 11 months in November of
the 199596 season against Jammu and Kashmir-16s.
[13]
In 199697, Yuvraj was promoted to
the Punjab Under-19s and scored 137 not out against Himachal Pradesh Under-19s.
[14]

Yuvraj made his first-class debut in late-1997 against Orissa during the 1997/98 Ranji Trophy
season. In that match, he did not score any runs.
[15]
His first breakout performance came in the
Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy Final of 1999 against Bihar; Bihar were all out with a score of
357 and Yuvraj opened for Punjab and he made 358 runs alone. Yuvraj represented India in the
series against Sri Lanka Under-19s in India in February 1999. In the third ODI, Yuvraj scored 89
runs from 55 balls.
[16]
In 1999-2000 Ranji Trophy, he scored 149 against Haryana.
[17]

In the ICC Under-19 World Cup 1999/00 which India won under the captaincy of Mohammed
Kaif, Yuvraj's all-round performance earned him the Player of the Tournament award and a call
to the national squad.
[18]
His performance in the tournament included a quickfire 58 off 25 balls
against Australia in the semis
[19]
and, 68 (62) and 4/36 against New Zealand in a group stage
match.
[20]
Yuvraj was subsequently selected in 2000 for the first intake of the National Cricket
Academy in Bangalore.
[21]

International breakthrough
Yuvraj was selected in the Indian squad for the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy in the back of his
impressive outings 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, Yuvraj won the man of the match for his innings of 84 (80),
against a pace attack consisting of Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie, that helped
India win by 20 runs.
[22]
In the semifinal against South Africa, he scored 41 and picked 1/15.
[23]

He scored only 14 against New Zealand in the final which India lost. The tournament was
followed by a tri-series involving India, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Yuvraj scored just 55 runs in
five innings at an average of 11. Yuvraj averaged 15.50 in the ODI series against the touring
Zimbabwe side in December 2000 after which he was dropped from the team.
Yuvraj made his comeback during the 2001 Coca-Cola Cup in Sri Lanka. He scored a crucial
98* against Sri Lanka in the fifth match in an otherwise disappointing series with the bat.
[24]

However, he proved to be useful with the ball as he picked up 8 wickets at an average of 27.
[25]

In the Standard Bank triangular series involving hosts South Africa, India and Kenya, Yuvraj
managed to score only 69 runs from 6 innings, including a duck in the final against South
Africa.
[26]
Following this, Dinesh Mongia and Hemang Badani were chosen over Yuvraj in the
squad for the home series against England in January 2002.
Yuvraj returned to playing domestic cricket in early-2002. After a disappointing run in the Ranji
knockouts, Yuvraj struck 209 for North Zone against South Zone in a Duleep Trophy match in
March 2002.
[27]
He was immediately drafted into the national squad for the final two ODIs
against Zimbabwe with India trailing the series 1-2. Yuvraj made impact in his return match at
Hyderabad, scoring an unbeaten 80 off just 60 balls, to take India to a five-wicket win and level
the series. He won the Man of the Match award for his efforts.
[28]
In the final ODI at Guwahati,
Yuvraj 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.
[29]

2002 NatWest Series
After winning the ODI series in the West Indies 2-1, where Yuvraj managed scores of 1 and 10,
the Indian team toured England in June for the NatWest triangular series and a four-match Test
series against the hosts. The NatWest Series featured teams from England and Sri Lanka, apart
from India. In the first match at Lord's, Yuvraj 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.
[30]
In the
next match against Sri Lanka, Yuvraj scored 31 and shared a crucial 60-run sixth-wicket
partnership with Mohammad Kaif to setup another successful run-chase.
[31]
India's next match
against England was washed out due to rain after Yuvraj had scored an unbeaten 40 off 19 balls
to take India to 285/4 in their 50 overs.
[32]
Yuvraj's knock of 37, along with a fifty from Rahul
Dravid, helped India recover from 59/4 to reach the target of 188 against Sri Lanka.
[33]
This win
eliminated Sri Lanka from the series with another round of matches still to be played. Yuvraj 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.
[34]

The final was played at Lord's on 13 July between India and England. After winning the toss and
electing to bat first, England posted a daunting total of 325/5 in 50 overs. In reply, India were
struggling at 146/5 at the end of 24 overs, when Kaif joined Yuvraj at the crease. The pair
initially stabilised the innings and later scored at a brisk rate. The duo shared a partnership of 121
runs for the sixth wicket which came to an end when Yuvraj was dismissed for 69 (63 balls) as
he top-edged a sweep shot in the 42nd over off the bowling of Paul Collingwood resulting in a
simple catch to Alex Tudor at short fine leg. India went on to win the game by two wickets with
three balls to spare.
[35]
This was India's first win in the final of an ODI tournament since 2000,
after nine consecutive defeats.
[36]
This win is regarded as one of India's greatest victories in ODI
cricket.
[37]

2002/032004
Yuvraj batted in two games of the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy which was held in Sri Lanka in
September. He scored 3 against Zimbabwe in the opening match, and 62 in the semifinal against
South Africa. In November 2002, Yuvraj struggled in the first five games of the 7-match ODI
series against West Indies, with a high score of 30. He returned to form in the sixth ODI at
Jodhpur with a crucial half-century that helped India win the match by three wickets and level
the series 3-3.
[38]
He top-scored for India in the 7th match with a 69-ball 68, but could not get
support from any other batsman. India crashed to a 135-run defeat and lost the series.
[39]
Yuvraj
struggled for runs in the 7-match ODI series in New Zealand in December 2002-January 2003,
averaging just above 19 with a solitary fifty.
Despite his indifferent form leading to the World Cup, Yuvraj secured a place in the 15-man
Indian squad for the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup in South Africa. Yuvraj scored 37 in India's
opening match against Netherlands. In the following games, he had scores of 0, 1 and 7* against
Australia, Zimbabwe and Namibia respectively. He scored a brisk 42 against England, followed
by an unbeaten 50 against Pakistan setting up wins for India in both games. In the Super Six
stage of the tournament, Yuvraj had scores of 58* against Kenya, and 5 against Sri Lanka. He
scored 16 in the semifinal against Kenya, and 24 against Australia in the final.
Yuvraj scored his maiden ODI century (102* from 85 balls) against Bangladesh at Dhaka on 11
April 2003. In May 2003, Yuvraj was signed by the Yorkshire County Cricket Club for the 2003
county season. Yuvraj became only the second Indian after Sachin Tendulkar to represent the
county.
[40][41]
Yuvraj's Test debut came on 16 October 2003 at his home ground Mohali against
New Zealand. Batting at six, he scored 20 in the first innings, and 5* in the second innings. In
the TVS Cup tri-series in October-November 2003 involving India, Australia and New Zealand,
Yuvraj scored 113 runs from 7 games at an average of 18.83 and top-score of 44.
[42]

Yuvraj returned to form in early-2004 in the tri-series involving Australia and Zimbabwe. He
scored 314 runs from 8 innings at an average of 39.25, including his second ODI hundred - 139
runs from 122 balls, with 16 fours and two sixes - against Australia at the Sydney Cricket
Ground.
[43]
Yuvraj had a mixed tour of Pakistan in March-April 2004. He disappointed in the
ODI series with 141 runs from 5 matches, averaging just over 28, but found success in the Test
series. In the first Test at Multan, Yuvraj scored 59 - his maiden Test fifty - as India registered an
innings win. He also picked up his maiden Test wicket during the second innings of Pakistan.
[44]

In the second Test at Lahore, Yuvraj scored his maiden Test century during India's first innings
while the rest of the batting lineup struggled against the bowling of Umar Gul. Yuvraj's innings
of 112 came from 129 deliveries with 15 fours and two sixes. He made only 12 runs in the
second innings and Pakistan leveled the series by winning the match by 9 wickets.
[45]
He scored
47 in the final Test at Rawalpindi where India secured the series with another innings victory.
[46]

However, he lost his form in the latter half of 2004 with batting averages of 31 in the 2004 Asia
Cup, 12.33 in the Natwest Series in England and 4.50 in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy. In
October 2004, after the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he was dropped from the
Test squad as his dismal run with the bat yielded just 47 runs from the two matches.
20052006: Revival in form
Despite the dip in form towards the end of 2004, Yuvraj continued to be a regular feature in the
Indian ODI team. In the Platinum Jubilee Match against Pakistan in November 2004, Yuvraj
scored a 62-ball 78 in a losing cause.
[47]
In December 2004, Yuvraj scored 94 runs at an average
of 31.33 in the three-match ODI tour of Bangladesh including a blistering knock of 69 from 32
balls in the final ODI at Dhaka.
[48]
He had a disappointing ODI series at home against Pakistan in
April 2005, scoring 98 runs in six matches at 19.60.
[49]

In July-August 2005, Yuvraj was the leading run-getter for India in the 2005 Indian Oil Cup
triangular series in Sri Lanka also involving the hosts Sri Lanka and West Indies. He scored 192
runs in four matches, averaging 48.
[50]
He also recorded his third ODI century during the series -
110 runs from 114 balls (11 fours and one six) - against West Indies at Colombo for which he
was awarded the man of the match.
[51]
Yuvraj then played in the Videocon Cup in August-
September 2005, a triangular series involving India, New Zealand and the hosts Zimbabwe. He
averaged 54 with the bat in the series, scoring 216 runs from 5 matches.
[52]
His innings of 120, in
the final round-robin match against Zimbabwe at Harare, helped India recover from a precarious
position of 36-4 and successfully chase down the target of 251. It was his fourth ODI hundred
and he won the man of the match award for his efforts.
[53]
In the two-match Test tour of
Zimbabwe that followed the tri-series in September, Yuvraj had scores of 12 and 25. In October-
November 2005, Yuvraj had a quiet seven-match ODI series at home against Sri Lanka. He
managed just 124 runs in six innings at an average of 31 with a top-score of 79*.
In November 2005, Yuvraj scored 103 in the first ODI against South Africa at Hyderabad to take
India from 35-5 to a respectable total of 249-9. Yuvraj won the man of the match award although
South Africa won the game by five wickets.
[54]
He picked up 1/17 and scored the winning runs in
the second ODI at Bangalore, before the third match at Chennai was washed out due to rain. He
scored 53 and 49 in the final two matches at Delhi and Ahmedabad respectively, and the series
was drawn 2-2. Yuvraj and South African captain Graeme Smith were jointly awarded the man
of the series as each of them scored 209 runs at 69.66, finishing as joint-highest run-getters of the
series.
[55]
Yuvraj had a mixed home Test series against Sri Lanka in December 2005 as he
registered two ducks and two half-centuries. He scored 0 & 77* in the second Test at Delhi, and
0 & 75 in the third Test at Ahmedabad as India won both the matches by comfortable margins.
Yuvraj was picked in both Test and ODI squads for the Pakistan tour in January-February 2006.
The first two Tests were drawn in which Yuvraj batted only once, in the second Test, scoring 4.
In the third Test at Karachi, Yuvraj top-scored for India in both innings. After scoring 45 in the
first innings, he went to score his second Test hundred in the second innings (122 runs from 144
balls). India lost the match by 341 runs and the series 1-0.
[56]
In the one-day series, he continued
to be in sublime form. He scored a 28-ball 39 in the first ODI at Peshawar which Pakistan won
by 7 runs by DuckworthLewis method.
[57]
He scored an unbeaten 82 in the second match at
Rawalpindi taking India to an emphatic 7-wicket win,
[58]
before scoring an unbeaten 79 in the
third game at Lahore and helping India successfully chase the target of 289.
[59]
In the low-scoring
fourth match at Multan, Yuvraj scored 37 as India took the series with a five-wicket victory.
[60]

In the fifth and the final ODI at Karachi, Yuvraj, batting at three, hit his sixth ODI century. His
innings of 107* which came off 93 balls with 13 boundaries, helped India comfortably chase
down the target of 287 for the loss of only two wickets. He won the man of the match award for
this innings and was also adjudged player of the series.
[61]
Against England, Yuvraj averaged
21.33 in two Tests in March but proved to be successful with both bat and ball in the ODI series
in which he again won the player of the series award. During the series, Yuvraj won back-to-
back man of the match awards in the third and fourth ODIs. In the third match, he made 103
from 76 balls, and in the fourth match, he picked 2/34 and scored 48. He scored a total of 237
runs in the series at an average of 47.40 and picked up 6 wickets with his part-time bowling.
[62]