Former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi has shared an amusing anecdote involving legendary all-rounder Yuvraj Singh from the 2007 T20 World Cup. Recalling a visit to the Indian dressing room during the tournament, Lalit Modi revealed that he had promised to gift a Porsche to any player who either smashed six sixes or picked up six wickets in a match. On September 19, 2007, Yuvraj famously lived up to that challenge, hammering England's Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over during the match in Durban.
Speaking on The Overlap Cricket podcast, Lalit Modi recalled watching the carnage unfold from the sidelines and revealed that Yuvraj immediately reminded him of the promise once the historic over was completed.
The bat with which Yuvraj Singh took Stuart Broad to the cleaners is currently framed at Lalit Modi's residence, with its value now running into several Porsches.
"During the 2007 T20 World Cup, I went into the Indian dressing room and told the boys that if anyone hit six sixes or took six wickets in a match, I'd gift them a Porsche. I was standing on the sidelines when Yuvraj hit those six sixes against England. The best part was that he came running straight up to me afterwards and asked, 'Where is my Porsche?'" Lalit Modi said.
Lalit Modi added that Yuvraj eventually opted for a BMW instead, as importing a Porsche to India at the time would have taken several months.
"I asked him for his bat and he happily obliged. I did promise him a Porsche, but he later exchanged it for a BMW, like a fool. That bat is now worth more than 50 Porsches," he added.
"Back then, it took almost six months to import a Porsche into India. Yuvraj came to me and said, 'I can't wait that long. There's a BMW available right now-can you give me that instead?' We went to the showroom, bought the BMW, and handed over the keys to Yuvraj."