5 young Indian players who can break Yuvraj Singh's record for fastest fifty
When Yuvraj Singh smashed six consecutive sixes in Stuart Broad's over in the 2007 T20 World Cup and completed the fastest T20 half century in just 12 deliveries, nobody imagined the record would ever be equalized or broken.
However, West Indies legend Chris Gayle, playing for the Melbourne Renegades, equalized the record in 2016 against the Adelaide Strikers, completing his half-century in just 12 balls.
Given the quality of Indian batters on show in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL), it would be no surprise if, in the future, a young Indian breaks Yuvraj Singh's record.
In this article, we will take a look at some Indian youngsters who have the potential to claim the record for fastest T20 fifty.
5 young Indian players who can break Yuvraj Singh's record for fastest fifty
#5 Tilak Varma
Tilak Varma has impressed the cricket pundits with his exponential growth since last season. He proved that there were no second-season blues for him as he continued from where he left the last season and, in fact, has improved in terms of his range hitting. The improvement in strike-rate from 131.0 last year to 158.4 is testimony to his potential as a powerful striker of the ball.
Tilak, who idolizes Yuvraj Singh, is following in his footsteps by minimizing the dot ball percentage, which is currently 33% for the youngster. With a ball per boundary ratio of 5.67, he has every chance to get close to the record in the future.
#4 Dhruv Jurel
Rajasthan Royals' newly found finisher Dhruv Jurel has lit up the IPL with his consistency in finishing matches for his side. He has been striking at an astonishing strike-rate of 183.12 in his very first IPL season, but the more interesting part is that he becomes even more dangerous in death overs, where he strikes at 195.7.
With a dot ball percentage of 17.5%, the lowest in the tournament so far, and ball per boundary ratio of 3.5, he is one of the prospects who can break Yuvraj Singh's record in the future.
#3 Jitesh Sharma
The Indian T20 set-up's next wicket-keeping prospect, Jitesh Sharma, who has been hitting the ball from the word go, is one of the prime candidates to break Yuvraj Singh's record for fastest T20 fifty.
Sharma plays both spin and pace equally well and has all the shots in his repertoire. His SR of 168.5 against pacers and 152.4 against spinners exemplifies his potential and dexterity, which is also reflected in his dot ball percentage of 23.7% and ball per boundary ratio of 3.23.
#2 Rinku Singh
How can a batsman who has scored five sixes in five consecutive deliveries and 40 runs off the last eight balls he played against the Gujarat Titans not be on our list?
Rinku Singh is the kind of batting all-rounder any team would want in their lineup. He can finish matches with a cool head on his shoulders and smash boundaries at will. With a dot ball percentage of 28.1% and a ball per boundary ratio of 3.36. He is certainly a candidate to break the fastest T20 fifty record of Yuvraj Singh.
#1 Yashasvi Jaiswal
Jaiswal is a fierce opener who came close to equalizing Yuvraj Singh's 12-ball fifty record against Kolkata Knight Riders in the 56th match of the IPL 2023. He completed his half-century in just 13 deliveries, the fastest in the history of the IPL.
Yashasvi Jaiswal has the luxury of batting in the power play with the field restrictions of having only two fielders outside the circle. His SR of 145.6 increases exponentially in this phase of the game to 169.6, with a dot ball percentage of only 29.7 and a ball per boundary ratio of 3.5.
Jaiswal's boundary-hitting abilities, especially piercing the gaps, make him the prime candidate to break the elusive record.