Yuvraj Singh ( pronunciation ) (born 12 December 1981) is an Indian international cricketer, who plays all forms of the game. An all-rounder who bats left-handed in the middle order and bowls slow left-arm orthodox, Yuvraj 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 October 2000 and played his first Test match in October 2003.
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. In the semifinal against South Africa, he scored 41 and picked 1/15. 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. 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, Yuvraj 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 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. He was immediately drafted into the national squad for the final two ODIs against Zimbabwe with India trailing the series 1-2. Yuvraj made an 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. 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.
What was his big breakthrough?
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 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. 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.
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.