Exclusive: Yuvraj Singh believes T20I double ton barrier can be broken by three men including Rohit Sharma

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  • Records keep falling by the wayside in modern-day cricket with new milestones being touched with increasing frequency. A double century by a batsman in the ODI seemed outside the realms of possibility for a long time, before the floodgates opened in 2010 after a landmark innings by Sachin Tendulkar.

    Some barriers, however, still remain elusive with a similar landmark yet to be conquered in the T20I format. A 172-run knock by Australia’s Aaron Finch remains the highest individual T20I score while a 175 by Chris Gayle in the IPL is the furthest a batsman has gone in the non-international format.

    Many believe that a double hundred in the 20-over format is bordering on impossible but former India star Yuvraj Singh begs to differ. The man who hit Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over in the inaugural World T20 in 2007, Yuvraj also holds the record for the fastest half-century in the format. It came off just 12 balls in the same innings against England in Durban and is yet to be bested in the years since.

    If there is a man whose opinion holds plenty water in the T20 double-century debate, it is most certainly Yuvraj Singh.

    “It (T20 double ton) is very tough I feel,” the former India all-rounder told Sport360 on the sidelines of the Expo 2020 Dubai cricket final.

    “Someone will need to score a century in 30 to 40 balls for it to be possible.

    “But it is not impossible I would say. With the way the game of cricket is going these days, I feel nothing is impossible. So let us wait and hope for the best.”

    It did, after all, take ODI cricket nearly four decades for Tendulkar to break the 200-run barrier in 2010 against South Africa. Since then, seven more double centuries have been registered in the 50-over format with India’s Rohit Sharma alone accounting for three of them.

    Rohit

    Rohit is among the three men that Yuvraj feels can break the 200-run barrier in T20Is.

    “Well Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers (South Africa) have retired from international cricket, oh wait, Gayle is still playing I forgot,” said Yuvraj.

    “In my eyes these were the two guys who could have scored a double hundred in T20I cricket. Rohit Sharma would be the third guy I can think of when it comes to a double T20 ton.”

    There have been murmurs of AB de Villiers contemplating rescinding his international retirement to return for the T20I World Cup in Australia later this year. Therefore, Yuvraj’s prediction might yet come true.

    There is no doubt in the 38-year-old’s mind, though, about who the cleanest hitter of the cricket ball currently is.

    “I would say Rohit Sharma. He is very clean, and very elegant when it comes to his shots,” the former all-rounder stated.

    “I don’t think anyone else comes close to Rohit really when it comes to hitting the ball cleanly.”

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