In a delightful and revealing segment during a recent interview with Shefali Bagga, Indian cricket icon Yuvraj Singh, who is currently leading India Champions in the ongoing World Championship of Legends 2025 in London, engaged in a unique and spontaneous challenge.
WCL 2025: Yuvraj Singh’s spontaneous top three choices
The task involved a ‘blind ranking’ of six top batters, where names were revealed one by one, prompting Yuvraj to assign their positions on the spot. What started as a straightforward exercise quickly transformed into a fascinating testament to his deep-seated respect for one particular legendary figure in cricket, ultimately reshaping his entire list.
The blind ranking challenge commenced with the revelation of AB de Villiers, a name that immediately resonated with Yuvraj, who instinctively placed the South African powerhouse in the coveted number one position on his list. Following this, the name of India’s prolific run-machine, Virat Kohli, was presented, leading Yuvraj to assign him the second spot. As the interview progressed, the third batter to be unveiled was the versatile South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis, whom Yuvraj promptly ranked third in his impromptu hierarchy.
Also READ: Not Virat Kohli! AB de Villiers names the true ‘King’ and ‘GOAT’ of world cricket
WCL 2025: The sudden twist and reshaping the rankings with Virat Kohli at 3
The true inflection point of the blind ranking arrived with the unexpected mention of Sachin Tendulkar‘s name. The moment Tendulkar’s name was uttered, Yuvraj Singh’s initial, carefully constructed list was completely and instinctively overridden by an unshakeable conviction. He immediately declared, “I think I’ll go Tendulkar first and ABD second,” a statement he emphatically reinforced by stating, “For me, Tendulkar is always first,”
This profound sentiment led to a complete re-ordering, placing Tendulkar firmly at the pinnacle in the first position, followed by De Villiers at second. Kohli moved to third, Kallis to fourth, and when Rohit Sharma was revealed as the next batter, he was slotted into the fifth position. Finally, the explosive West Indian opener, Chris Gayle, completed the list at sixth, solidifying Yuvraj’s ultimate, unyielding hierarchy of cricketing greats.
Also READ: Suresh Raina picks his ultimate World XI; leaves out MS Dhoni
