"Loads of love" - Yuvraj Singh’s endearing wish for Bollywood actress [In Picture]
Former Team India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh shared a sweet birthday wish for Bollywood star Preity Zinta. The popular actress turned 50 on Friday, January 31. The legendary cricketer also shared an old picture of the two on his Instagram story.
Yuvraj and Preity go back a long way. The swashbuckling batter was the first captain of the Kings XI Punjab (re-christened as Punjab Kings), an Indian Premier League (IPL) team co-owned by the actress. Sending birthday wishes to Preity on her special day, the 43-year-old wrote:
"Happy birthday Pzed! Loads of love and hope you have a wonderful year ahead."
Yuvraj Singh scored 959 runs across 48 innings during his stint with the Punjab-based franchise. He represented the side from 2008 to 2010 before making a return to the team in 2018.
Under his captaincy, the side finished second in the points table in the inaugural IPL season in 2008. However, they failed to qualify for the final, suffering a heartbreaking nine-wicket loss to Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
When Preity Zinta called Yuvraj Singh her brother to quash dating rumors
Yuvraj Singh and Preity Zinta sparked dating rumors during the former's stint with Punjab in the IPL. She was also linked with former Australian speedster Brett Lee.
Speaking about the conjecture surrounding her personal life during an interview in 2016, Preity clarified that there was no truth to those rumors. She stated that the two cricketers were like her brothers and cheekily suggested that she should like to visit them on Raksha Bandhan.
Preity was quoted as saying by DNA:
"I am a private person. I am amazed when I see so much being written about my life, without being confirmed by me. It has stopped bothering me, but there are a few things which I have taken to heart. When I was linked with Yuvraj Singh and Brett Lee – I will never forget that. They are my brothers. And I have decided to personally visit Lee and Yuvi on Raksha Bandhan and tie rakhis to them."
Meanwhile, Yuvraj Singh announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket in 2019. He was one of the key architects in India's 2007 T20 World Cup win and 2011 50-over World Cup. He was the Player of the Tournament in the Men in Blue's 2011 World Cup triumph, scoring 362 runs and claiming 15 wickets.