There are not too many moments perhaps more iconic than Yuvraj Singh smashing Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over in the T20 World Cup 2007 India vs England clash. While fans remember the flair and the fireworks, a lesser-known, hilarious and slightly salty chapter of that rivalry involves a signed jersey, a fit of rage and a hotel room dustbin.
What’s the backdrop: 36 runs in 6 balls
It was September 19, 2007. A young Stuart Broad was at the receiving end of a brutal onslaught in Durban. Following a heated exchange between Yuvraj and Andrew Flintoff, Broad became the collateral damage. Yuvraj dispatched him to every corner of Kingsmead, etching his name into history and leaving Broad shell-shocked.
In a show of sportsmanship following the match, Yuvraj Singh decided to reach out to the young Englishman. He signed the jersey he wore during that historic knock with a personalised message.
“Stuart’s dad, Chris Broad, was the match referee for the India-Australia match. He came and told me, ‘You almost finished my son’s career.’ I told him, ‘Sir, I have been hit for five sixes myself; I know how it feels.’ He said, ‘You need to sign a shirt for Stuart.’ So, on my India shirt, I wrote: I have been hit for five sixes. I know how it feels. I hope you go on to become the best. I read recently that when Chris gave him that shirt, he threw it in the bin. He was so angry, and it is so acceptable,” Yuvraj narrated the incident to Michael Vaughan on The Overlap Cricket.
It was meant to be a gesture of solidarity, referencing Yuvraj’s own experience of being hit for five sixes by Dimitri Mascarenhas just weeks ago.
Straight in the bin
Broad, however, wasn’t exactly in the mood for “solidarity.” Years later, the England legend admitted that the pain of the defeat was too fresh to appreciate the sentiment.
In a candid interview, Broad revealed his immediate reaction upon returning to his hotel room with the signed shirt:
“He [Yuvraj] gave me his shirt at the end of the game with a lovely message… but I think I threw it in the bin in the dressing room or the hotel! It wasn’t what I wanted to see right then.”
From throwing his jersey to mutual respect
While the jersey didn’t survive the night, the relationship between the two legends did. Broad didn’t let that night define him; instead, he went on to become one of the greatest Test bowlers in history, taking over 600 wickets.
Broad eventually reached out to Yuvraj years later to clarify that there was no lingering malice, just the raw emotion of a competitive athlete. Yuvraj has also often laughed off the incident, noting that he understood the frustration of a 21-year-old being hammered on the world stage and termed it “acceptable” in this recent podcast.