YUVRAJ SINGH

Name: Yuvraj Singh
Born: 12 December 1981 (1981-12-12) (age 27)Chandigarh, India
Nickname: Yuvi
Height: 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Batting style: Left-handed
Bowling style: Slow left arm orthodox
Role: All-rounder
Relations: Yograj Singh (father)
National side: India
Test debut: 16 October 2003 v New Zealand
ODI debut: 3 October 2000 v Kenya

Yuvraj Singh (Punjabi: ਯੁਵਰਾਜ ਸਿੰਘ, born 12 December 1981 in Chandigarh, India) is a cricketer from India, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 (ODIs) and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008. At the 2007 World Twenty20 he hit six sixes in an over against England's Stuart Broad - a feat only performed three times previously in any form of senior cricket, and never previously in an international match between two Test cricket nations.

Early career:
Yuvraj first came to attention when he captained the U-19 Punjab cricket team in the final of the Cooch-Behar Trophy against Bihar U-19s, in which he scored 358. He then gained selection for the U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in January 2000, where he was part of a team lead by Mohammed Kaif which won the tournament. Yuvraj was subsequently selected in 2000 for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

Style:
Yuvraj is primarily a left-handed batsman but can bowl part-time left-arm orthodox spin. He is regarded as being better at batting against fast bowling than spin bowling, and cites the Indian Oil Cup 2005 as a turning point in his career. He is one of the better fielders in the Indian team, fielding primarily at point, with a good aim at the stumps. 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.

He was previously often characterized as having attitude problems, but later often assumed leadership positions during Rahul Dravid's tenure as captain. Lately Yuvraj has put on a significant amount of weight, which has had an adverse effect on his fielding capability.

County cricket:
After the 2003 Cricket World Cup, Yuvraj was signed by Yorkshire, becoming only the second Indian after Tendulkar to represent the county. However, he had a disappointing run, scoring less than 200 runs in either form of the game, but described it as an important learning experience.

Commercial interests:
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.

Codemasters' cricket video game Brian Lara International Cricket 2007, was released with his endorsement in India, titled "Yuvraj Singh International Cricket 2007"The Bollywood animated film, Jumbo features cricketer Yuvraj Singh's voice therefore starting his career in Bollywood.