Until February 24, 2010, a double century in One-Day International (ODI) cricket seemed impossible. Many players reached 170s, 180s, and even 190s, but nobody crossed the golden milestone; however, in February 2010, India’s legend Sachin Tendulkar broke all the barriers and smashed a first-ever double hundred in ODIs at Gwalior against South Africa.
Since then, many followed the footsteps of Tendulkar and scored a double ton. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Virendra Sehwag, Martin Guptill, Chris Gayle, and Fakhar Zaman are those special names in world cricket who have achieved the feat of scoring 200 in the 50-over format.
Although, when it comes to T20 cricket, a similar landmark is yet to be made. Australia’s limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch has scored the maximum 172 in T20 internationals, while the ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle has smashed the highest individual score (175*) in overall T20s.
Many believe that a double centennial in the shortest format is unfeasible, but former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh has a different take on this. The erstwhile all-rounder is of the opinion that it’s not impossible. He feels that there are three batsmen in the world who can achieve such a feat.
“It (T20 double ton) is very tough, I feel. 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.” said Yuvraj in an interview with Sport360.
“Well Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers (South Africa) have retired from international cricket, oh wait, Gayle is still playing I forgot,” added Yuvraj.
The man who hit Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over in 2007 T20 World Cup, picked his compatriot Rohit Sharma as the third contender.
“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.”
When asked about who is the cleanest hitter of the ball, the 38-year-old picked Rohit again and claimed he hasn’t seen anyone hitting the ball as cleanly as Rohit.
“I would say, Rohit Sharma. He is very clean and very elegant when it comes to his shots. I don’t think anyone else comes close to Rohit really when it comes to hitting the ball cleanly,” Yuvraj added further.
