Yuvraj Singh

Full name: Yuvraj Singh
Nickname: Yuvi
Born: December 12, 1981, Chandigarh
Major teams: India, Punjab, Yorkshire
Relations: Father - B Yograj Singh

Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox

Test debut: India v New Zealand at Chandigarh - Oct 16-20, 2003

ODI debut: Kenya v India at Nairobi (Gym) - Oct 3, 2000

PROFILE
Yuvraj Singh is primarily a left-handed batsman but can bowl part-time left-arm orthodox spin. This flamboyant batsman first came into attention when he made a dashing 358 captaining the the Punjab U-19 team in the final of the Cooch-Behar Trophy against Bihar U-19s. Owing to his superb performance he was then selected in the U-19 national team for the world cup to be held in Sri Lanka in 1999 under the captaincy of Mohammad Kaif. Being part of the winning team of the U-19 world cup, Yuvraj Singh was chosen in 2000 for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

Yuvraj made a classy start to his international career. It was his second ODI, when he made a quickfire 84 off 82 and that too against the Aussies studded with bowlers like McGrath, Lee and Gillespie. But after that innings he subsequently dropped from the team due to his poor form. But soon he made a wonderful return to the team with a score of 98 against the Lankans. One of his most memorable innings was a partnership with Mohammad Kaif in the NatWest Series final against England in July 2002 which led India to victory and it cemented his place in the Indian team.

The 2005-06 season proved to be a watershed for Yuvraj, with 1161 runs at 58 in the one-dayers, as he transformed himself into one of the keystones in India's batting line-up. Besides being a gifted batsman, Yuvraj is a great fielder also. Very often he can be seen standing at the Jonty Rhodes Corner. He has the ability to take stunning catches and make awesome stops. A Cricinfo report published in late 2005 showed that since 1999, he was the fourth most prolific fielder in effecting ODI run outs, and of those on the list of prolific fielders, he had the second highest rate of effecting a run out. Even he also a good part time bowler who has the ability to take wickets. After having a great 2005-06 season he was out of action for oer three months due to knee injury and made his return in January, 2006.

Though being such a talented player Yuvraj has had a number of critics. Many complain about his attitude. Also he attracted attention by angry gesticulations to the Indian dressing room after he reached his century against West Indies, which was postulated to be due to his clashes with team management - Greg Chappell had been appointed as the new Indian coach and he had criticised Yuvraj. He later praised Chappell's techniques.

Owing to his great personality, Yuvraj was signed by Microsoft to be a brand ambassador for the Xbox 360 video game console when it was launched in India in 2006. He appeared in advertisements for the console alongside Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar. A cricket game with his endorsement, Yuvraj Singh International Cricket 2007, was announced for release in 2007 in India. Besides this Yuvraj has also walked down the ramp in various fashion shows alongside other celebrities and models.
Veiw Yuvraj's stats at http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/36084.html