Former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh, who played a key role in India's 2007 WT20 and 2011 World Cup wins, turns 39 on Saturday.
India's twin-World Cup winning legend Yuvraj Singh is celebrating his 39th birthday today. Yuvraj, widely regarded as one of India's greatest match-winners in the limited-overs format, played an influential role in both the World Cup triumphs -- the 2007 WT20 and 2011 ODI World Cup, and also bagged the Player of the Tournament award in the latter.
In the 2011 World Cup which was held in the Indian subcontinent, Yuvraj produced an incredible all-round dominance to steer India to a second World Cup title. He scored 362 runs and took 15 wickets in the tournament, and was further included in ICC's Team of the Tournament, and even in the year's ODI XI.
He became the first player to score 300-plus runs and take 15 wickets in a single edition of the World Cup. During a group match against Ireland, Yuvraj also became the first cricketer to score 50-plus runs and take five wickets.
One of his most important contributions in the tournament came against Australia, when he registered figures of 2/44 with the ball (taking wickets of Brad Haddin and Michael Clarke), and remained unbeaten on 57 in the 261-run chase.
However, it was later revealed that Yuvraj had been facing respiratory issues throughout the World Cup campaign, and the player was diagnosed with cancer merely months after the triumph. He eventually recovered from the disease and made a return to the team next year.
In the 2007 World Twenty20, Yuvraj's exploits in the match against England were etched in history books, as he became the first player to hit six sixes in a match. He created the record in Stuart Broad's over during a group match. He scored 58 off just 16 deliveries in the innings.
Yuvraj produced a match-winning performance in the semifinal of the tournament against Australia, scoring 70 off merely 30 balls. He hit five fours and as many sixes in the innings, as India won the match by 15 runs.
The left-handed all-rounder made his India debut in 2000 in an ODI against Kenya. He went on to represent the country in 40 Tests, 304 ODIs and 58 T20Is. He is among the only three Indians (other being Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly) to score more than 5,000 runs (8,704 runs) and take 100-plus wickets (111) in ODIs.
Yuvraj retired from international cricket in 2019, and appeared last for India in the 2017 Champions Trophy.
In the Indian Premier League, the southpaw represented Kings XI Punjab, Pune Warriors India, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians.
