Yuvraj Singh turns 33!

As 2011 World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh -- who has won many battles for Team India over the years -- turns 33 today, take a look at the life of the Punjab batsman.

As 2011 World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh -- who has won many battles for Team India over the years -- turns 33 today, take a look at the life of the Punjab batsman.

Yuvraj Singh was born on December 12, 1981 to Indian fast bowler and Punjabi actor Yograj Singh and Shabnam Singh.



Yuvraj made his debut for India in the 2000 ICC Knock-out Trophy, playing his first match against Kenya in the pre-quarterfinal. However, his moment of glory came in the quarterfinal match against Australia in which he won the man of the match award for his superlative innings of 84 runs in80 balls against a pace attack consisting of Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie that helped India win by 20 runs.

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Yuvraj as a child loved skating and tennis and had even won the National U-14 Roller Skating Championship.

Yuvraj is very close to his mother, Shabnam Singh.



Yuvraj was the hero of 2002 NatWest Series in which he along with Mohammad Kaif helped India chase a massive 325 in the final at Lords. The duo shared a partnership of 121 runs for the sixth wicket which ended when Yuvraj was dismissed for 69 (63 balls). This is still considered to be one of the greatest one-day victories of India.

Yuvraj played a major role in India’s victory in the inaugural ICC T20 World cup in 2007. His 6 Sixes in an over off Stuart Broad of England will be remembered for ages.



In 2009, he was named the vice captain of the Indian team in place of Virender Sehwag. He also led Kings XI Punjab to the semi-finals in the inaugural Indian Premier league in 2008.

Yuvraj again proved his worth in 2011 World Cup, which India won after 28 years. The southpaw was rightly adjudged ‘Man of the Series’ for his outstanding contribution with both the bat and the ball. In India's match against Ireland, he became the first player to take five wickets and score 50 runs in a World Cup match.

However, destiny had something else in store for Yuvraj as he was diagnosed with a cancer tumor in his left lung in later part of 2011. He was treated in Boston USA as well as Medicine Facilities in Indianapolis, Indiana and was discharged in March 2012.



His never-say-die-spirit helped him resume cricket and he again went on to wear the Indian colours soon.



However, the Punjab batsman has failed to find a place in the list of 30 probables for the 2014 World Cup.

Yuvraj Singh considers Sachin Tendulkar as his role model. "You will matter when it matters the most," were the inspiring words from the Little Master which have always inspired Yuvraj in his tough times.

Yuvraj was bestowed with the Arjuna Award in year 2012 by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, and was given Padam Shri in year 2014.



Yuvraj Singh owns a cricket academy named ‘Yuvraj Singh Centre of Excellence’. The centres train children for future in cricket. These programmes are being run at Nodia, Gurgoan, Aravli.

He has also penned down a book named ‘The test of my life’. He runs an organisation called’" You we can’. It is an endeavor to detect cancer at an early stage.