Fearless Gill can be the game-changer: Yuvraj

If one had to pick just a couple of defining memories from Yuvraj Singh's stellar international career, his role in the heady World Cup triumphs of 2007 and 2011 is likely to take precedence.

- Vivek Krishnan

The ODI World Cup win in 2011 ended the 28-year wait to build on the legacy of Kapil Dev's team while the World T20 win in 2007 was path-breaking, largely responsible for the pre-eminence Indian cricket is accorded today.

Yuvraj, now 41 and four years into his post-retirement life, was the Player of the Tournament in 2011, starring with 362 runs and 15 wickets. Four years earlier, his six sixes in an over off England pacer Stuart Broad and a 30-ball 70 against Australia in the semifinal redefined the boundaries of what is possible in the shortest format a few months before the Indian Premier League (IPL) was launched and became an annual fixture in the T20 calendar.

In short, he knows what he's talking about when the discussion revolves around a World Cup. There was arguably no bigger match-winner than Yuvraja gun middle-order batter and a handy left-arm spinner, never mind Kevin Pietersen calling him a "pie chucker"- in these highstakes battles.