Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Abhishek Sharma thanked his dad, Yuvi Paaji and Lara sir for helping him a lot: “Lara sir for helping me a lot”.
November, 1999. A lanky left-hander makes his Ranji Trophy debut for Punjab. His father, a former India seamer, wanted his elder son to pursue fast bowling. Batting at No. 3, Yuvraj Singh is castled by Ashish Nehra for a nine-ball duck.
He redeems himself in the second innings, though, with a brisk 60 off 99 balls. The then 17-year-old Yuvraj makes headlines in the very next game, scoring 149 as an opener versus Haryana. Despite an impressive start, he is dropped to No. 6. He bats thrice in that position, thrice again at No. 3, before ending the campaign at No. 5. After the high of the first three innings, the next seven outings account for only 188 runs.