Meet Yuvraj Singh’s namesake: Canada’s rising cricket talent
19-year-old hopes his T20 World Cup knock can help him ‘make a living out of the sport’
Dubai: Yuvraj Samra was virtually unknown beyond cricket’s inner circles until last week. The 19-year-old Canadian announced himself to the world in stunning fashion at the T20 World Cup, hammering a 65-ball century against New Zealand to become the tournament’s youngest ever centurion and the first from an Associate nation to achieve the feat.
The Brampton-born teenager, named after Indian white-ball icon Yuvraj Singh by his cricket-obsessed father Baljeet, now dares to dream of a professional career in the sport.
“I feel like this innings could change my life,” Samra said. “I can actually make a good living out of this sport, especially being from Canada. It can be a real dream come true.”
His blazing knock of 110, laced with 11 fours and six sixes, provided the backbone of Canada’s imposing 173-run total against their higher-ranked opponents — an innings that Samra believes was written in the stars.
“I’ve always been thinking about this moment, day and night, every day. I just want to make a name in this World Cup and make a living out of this sport,” he said, adding that the performance could now open doors to T20 leagues around the world.
Seasonal luxury
The path to this moment, however, was far from easy.
Cricket in Canada is a seasonal luxury, squeezed into a three-month window between brutal winters that plunge to minus 25 or 30 degrees. To sharpen his game, Samra and his teammates have had to travel abroad to countries like Sri Lanka, though he credits the team’s management for making those opportunities possible.
One person absent from the Chennai stands that day was his father — the man Samra considers the driving force behind his cricketing journey.
“In my cricketing journey, my dad plays the biggest role. I really wish he was here watching this game, but all the credit goes to him,” Samra said.
The 16,000-strong Chennai crowd gave Samra a rousing standing ovation, a moment that left him visibly overwhelmed. “The moment I stepped onto this ground, I was just like, wow. We never get to play at these type of venues, especially in Canada. It’s just a great feeling.”
Back in Toronto, a proud father watched from afar. “I was a big fan of Yuvraj Singh’s batting, so when my wife Hoshiar Kaur and I were blessed with a son, we named him after him,” Baljeet told The Indian Express. “To see our Yuvraj hit a T20 World Cup hundred and become the youngest batter to do so is a special feeling. I’m sure Yuvraj Singh too would be proud that his namesake has created history. Playing in a World Cup had always been Yuvraj’s dream.”
