Background and career
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.
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 a child 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.
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.
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.
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. 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 was struggling at 146/5 at the end of 24 overs, when Kaif joined Singh at the crease. The pair initially stabilised the innings and later scored at a brisk rate. The pair shared a partnership of 121 runs for the sixth wicket which came to an end when Singh was dismissed for 69 off 63 balls when 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. This was India's first win in the final of an ODI tournament since 2000, after nine consecutive defeats. This win is regarded as one of India's greatest victories in ODI cricket.
Singh 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. India and Sri Lanka won the tournament as joint winners, defeating Australia and all the other competing teams. In November 2002, Singh 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 half-century that helped India win the match by three wickets and level the series 3-3. 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. He struggled for runs in the seven-match ODI series in New Zealand in December 2002-January 2003, averaging just above 19 with a solitary fifty. Despite his average form leading up to the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Singh secured a place in the 15-man Indian squad for the tournament. He 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 then 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, Singh 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, which India lost. Singh scored his maiden ODI century (102* from 85 balls) against Bangladesh at Dhaka on 11 April 2003. In May 2003, Singh was signed up by the Yorkshire County Cricket Club for the 2003 county season. He became only the second Indian after Sachin Tendulkar to represent the county. Singh'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, he scored 113 runs from 7 games at an average of 18.83 and top-score of 44. Singh 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. He 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, he scored 59 - his maiden Test fifty - as India registered an innings win. He also picked his maiden Test wicket during Pakistan's second innings. In the second Test at Lahore, Singh scored his maiden Test century during India's first innings while the rest of the batting line-up struggled against the bowling of Umar Gul. Singh's score of 112 came from just 129 deliveries with 15 fours and two sixes. He made only 12 runs in the second Test as Pakistan levelled the series after winning the match by 9 wickets. He scored 47 in the final Test at Rawalpindi where India secured the series with another innings victory. However, he suffered a drop in 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 just 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. Despite Singh's loss of form, he continued to be a regular feature in the Indian ODI team. In the Platinum Jubilee Match against Pakistan in November 2004, he scored a 62-ball 78 in a losing cause. In December 2004, Singh scored 94 runs at an average of 31.33 in the three-match ODI tour of Bangladesh including a quickfire knock of 69 from 32 balls in the final ODI at Dhaka. He had a disappointing ODI series at home against Pakistan in April 2005, scoring 98 runs in six matches at 19.60.
