Yuvraj Singh Biography

Yuvraj Singh first started making waves in junior and Under-19 cricket, everyone believed that a future Indian batting star had arrived. His debut, when he was not yet 19, confirmed that in spectacular fashion, as he smashed an Australian attack comprising of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee to make 84 runs at better than a run-a-ball in the 2000 edition of the Champions Trophy.

He made his way back to the team though, and showed greater commitment and focus. His transition from fringe player to established member was complete when he shared a match-winning partnership with Mohammad Kaif as India chased down England's imposing total of 325 in the finals of the 2002 Natwest Series at Lord's.

The year 2005 is when he started to pull his weight seriously in the limited-overs team, and started assuming the mantle of the fulcrum of the middle order. In the years 2005-06, he established himself as one of the best ODI players in the World, let alone the country, and along with MS Dhoni, became one of the best finishers in the game.

With the advent of Twenty20 cricket, Yuvraj entered the record books, smashing Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over, and recording the fastest 50 in any international cricket -- off just 12 balls in the inaugural World T20. His stunning show in the World T20 was a crucial factor in India's successful campaign in the tournament.

Yuvraj's biggest moment - in cricket and probably his life - came in the year 2011 when his huge contributions with ball and bat helped India win the World Cup after 28 years. He was named the Man of the Tournament for scoring 362 runs and picking up 15 wickets. However, there was a harsh twist in his life soon after; he was diagnosed with cancer and he fought hard to win the health battle after almost a year and successfully overcame the disease getting quality treatment in USA.

He came back in national colors - a comeback which inspired many cancer patient - just ahead of the 2012 T20 WC in Sri Lanka and has been a regular member of the T20I and ODI sides since then. He was also picked for the Tests against England but as has been the case in his Test career, he couldn't keep his spot.

IPL: Yuvraj Singh played for Punjab for the first three years of the IPL. He then was bought by Pune in 2011.

After being dropped from the squad for being unfit and constant failures, Yuvraj spent six weeks in central France with a private trainer and was raring to go. His hard-work paid off as he was selected for the one off T20I against Australia in October 2013. Yuvraj returned to the international scene all guns blazing as he smashed an unbeaten 77 off just 35 balls to lead India to a six-wicket victory over the opposition. He received his 7th Man of the Match award in T20Is - the most by an Indian player in T20Is.

Also, the same cannot be said about his return to the one-day side. Yuvraj failed to make any significant contributions against Australia and West Indies in October/November 2013. Despite his poor run in the last few games, Yuvraj was retained in the ODI squad for the South Africa tour in December 2013.

A part of the 2014 IPL, Yuvraj Singh went into the Auctions pool. His match-winning abilities drew a lot of competition among bidders and he was eventually sold out to Bangalore for a staggering 14 crore, the highest bid for a player in 2014. The national selectors also named him in the squad for the 2014 World T20 as he fits the shortest format perfectly.