‘Yuvraj’ in Hindi means ‘Crown Prince’ or ‘Young King’. India have enjoyed a young king of their own for decades in the form of Yuvraj Singh, who is touted as perhaps the most blessed cricketer of his generation. His bat flow, his accolades, and his batsmanship were all out of this world. But he hasn’t just inspired his 1.4 billion countrymen but also the cricket fanatics worldwide. Just ask Baljit Samra, who named his son after Yuvraj Singh and now the prodigy has rewritten the history books.
Yuvraj Samra, turning up for Canada at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 blew away New Zealand. The Kiwi unit is known for smart bowling plans and had the likes of Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson and Jacob Duffy. But they saw Yuvraj almost bat out of the innings, smashing 110 runs in 65 balls.
T20 World Cup and another Yuvraj shines
This wasn’t just a routine hundred. This wasn’t just Yuvraj’s maiden international ton. This made him the youngest centurion not just in T20 World Cups but across all ICC events. At just 19 years old, Yuvraj has become the maiden associate player to hammer a T20 World Cup ton against a full-member nation. That too is not a lesser-known full-member nation like Ireland or Zimbabwe but a full-fledged New Zealand side barring Mitchell Santner. Santner didn’t play because he regretted eating a ‘dodgy burger’ in Chennai.
But the way Samra batted, Santner would’ve hardly made a difference. The clean hitting on show was there to be seen. The last time anyone stepped out to Henry in the first over was Abhishek Sharma and now Samra took a leaf out of Abhishek’s book to hammer the Kiwi pacer for 20 runs off 15 balls. Although his opening partner and captain, Dilpreet Bajwa, was striking less than a run-a-ball, Yuvraj sent the New Zealanders on the leather hunt, taking Canada’s total to 173, the joint-highest for any associate nation against them.
Players with great hand-eye coordination rarely use their feet. But Samra is different. He stepped out on multiple occasions, even to the spinners and punished anything short of length from backfoot as well. You thought the off-spin matchup could do well against hte southpaw but he vanished, Kiwi spinners for 32 runs in 15 balls.
Catch ZIM vs IRE, T20 World Cup match live here.
Yuvraj-Yuvraj, is there a connection?
Guess how many sixes Yuvraj Samra hit in the Canada vs New Zealand game? Yeah, bang on…6! Samra didn’t even celebrate his first birthday when Yuvraj Singh bludgeoned Stuart Broad for 36 runs in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007. But Samra’s father watched it and instilled a dream in his mind. That dream was to make his son as his namesake.
There isn’t a family connection between the two Yuvrajs. However, there’s supreme inspiration. Interestingly, Yuvraj Samra wasn’t even a left-hander by birth. But his father, in obsession with the Indian Yuvraj, developed his game as a southpaw. Slowly and steadily, when Samra got involved, he would never let his father witness Yuvraj live in action alone.
Samra, in his interview with ESPNcricinfo, shared that he has got the golden opportunity to meet his idol a couple of times. The first time was when the Indian legend played for Toronto Nationals in the Global T20 Season 2019. For the second chance, he had to wait for six years. During the Super 60 event in 2025, Bajit Samra Yuvraj about the name, and Yuvraj apparently laughed it off warmly.
The name may be the same, but the junior Samra is building his own identity. He has been vocal about the admiration of Yuvraj Singh but wants to stick to his own game. If his 15-ball against Bahamas in the T20 World Cup Americas Regional final was a trailer, the 58-ball century against New Zealand is the coming-of-age moment for the 19-year-old.
Youngest players to score 100 in an ICC tournament
| Player | Age | Match | Tournament |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yuvraj Samra | 19y 141d | vs New Zealand | 2026 T20 World Cup |
| Paul Stirling | 20y 196d | vs Netherlands | 2011 World Cup |
| Ricky Ponting | 21y 76d | vs West Indies | 1996 World Cup |
Highest Scores in T20 World Cup
| Score | Player | Opponent | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 123 | Brendon McCullum | Bangladesh | 2012 |
| 117 | Chris Gayle | South Africa | 2007 |
| 116* | Alex Hales | Sri Lanka | 2014 |
| 111* | Ahmed Shehzad | Bangladesh | 2014 |
| 110 | Yuvraj Samra | New Zealand | 2026 |
Highest scores for Associate teams in T20 World Cups
| Score | Player | Team | Opponent | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 110 | Yuvraj Samra | Canada | New Zealand | Chennai | 2026 |
| 94* | Aaron Jones | USA | Canada | Grand Prairie | 2024 |
| 86 | Michael Jones | Scotland | Ireland | Hobart | 2022 |
| 84 | George Munsey | Scotland | Italy | Kolkata | 2026 |
| 80* | Andries Gous | USA | South Africa | North Sound | 2024 |
