3 min readUpdated: Feb 17, 2026 01:34 PM IST
As Canada’s Yuvraj Singh Samra jogged back for a double off the 58th ball, he pumped his fists and pointed the bat at the dressing room and stood tall with his arms raised. At 19, the opener had become the youngest ever to score a century in the Men’s T20 World Cup. The crowd at the Chepauk stadium, some 15,000 strong, gave him a standing ovation. It was the moment that Samra, named after the Yuvraj Singh, has been playing on his mind ever since Canada booked their spot in the T20 World Cup.
“Honestly, I manifested this moment ever since we qualified for the World Cup. Every single day, I dreamed about scoring a hundred on this stage. To do it here, in my first appearance, and as the youngest player in this World Cup – it’s truly a dream come true,” he told broadcasters.
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Samra was around 11 or 12 years old when he realised he was named after Yuvraj by his father Baljit Samra. “I’m not sure exactly what age. I think it was around 11-12 years when I got to know about. My dad was a really big Yuvraj Singh fan. He followed his cricketing journey throughout and he told my mom ‘if it is a boy he wants to name Yuvraj no matter what. And he named me that,” Samra told Cricket Canada.
Like Yuvraj, Samra is tall and bats left-handed. Though he doesn’t move his feet much, he has a good bat swing, not as high as the OG, but one that helps him to clear the distance. “He is my idol. Loves the way he bats and he has inspired me a lot. I like to see the ball travel the distance off my bat. I really love the sound off the bat when it connects well,” Samra said.
“It feels incredible. There are so many emotions right now, I can’t really put them into words. Yuvraj Singh is someone I’ve looked up to since I was a kid, so to even be mentioned in the same breath is special. I just wish my dad was here today watching me from back home – this one’s for him.
On Tuesday at Chepauk, it was Samra who stole the show even as his opening partner Dilpreet Bajwa struggled to induce any sort of momentum. With New Zealand missing captain Mitchell Santner due to food poisoning and Lockie Ferguson not available due to paternity break, Samra set the tone from the word go on another placid surface.
