Samra’s father Baljeet was not content naming his child after Yuvraj Singh, who was instrumental in India’s successful campaigns in the 2007 (T20) and 2011 One Day Internation World Cups. He also turned his son into a left-handed batter, just like the Indian all-rounder.
“I think I was right-handed before my dad forced me to become a lefty,” Yuvraj Samra told Reuters.
Much to his father’s delight, Samra shared the same six-hitting prowess of his Indian inspiration. Samra has hit 27 maximums in 16 T20 Internationals, and smashed a 15-ball 50 against Bahamas last year. Set to make his T20 World Cup debut against South Africa on Monday, Samra, the youngest player in the tournament at just over 19 years and four months old, denied being under any pressure.
“My father said, ‘for you, playing for Canada is not the end goal. You should be playing in T20 leagues around the world’,” Samra said.
“So, I was thinking to myself, this is going to be my job, so there’s nothing to be scared of.”
–Reuters–
