20 February,2026 04:42 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Marcus Stoinis (Pic: File Pic)
Australia's burly all-rounder Marcus Stoinis heaped praise on legendary Team India cricketer Yuvraj Singh by saying he sees him more as a mentor.
Stoinis then said that Yuvraj helped him during the Indian Premier League (IPL) and said that he has respect towards the former cricketer.
"I played with Yuvraj Singh in the IPL. Although I was playing with him, I describe him more as a mentor. I was quite young, and he was obviously very experienced," he said.
"Super talented, elegant, powerful. Not the typical power that maybe is on highlight around the world today. It was a more relaxed, rhythmical power. Very nice guy, very helpful. I mean, to a young overseas player coming to the IPL, he was very good to me. Nothing but absolute respect," added Stoinis.
Australia has already been eliminated from the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. They will play their last group stage match against Oman, before the global showpiece proceeds to the "Super 8" stage.
The Aussies started their campaign strongly with a commanding win over Ireland by 67 runs in the 14th match of the tournament at R Premdasa Stadium. However, in the next match, Australia suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe at the same stadium where they were unable to chase 170 and got bowled out for 146. The Aussies suffered yet another loss, as they went down against Sri Lanka, losing the match by eight wickets as Sri Lanka chased a target of 182 runs in just 18 overs.
With the defeat against Sri Lanka, their chances of qualifying were no longer in their hands as they depended on Ireland to win their match against Zimbabwe. The match got washed out, with Zimbabwe and Ireland getting one point each, eliminating Australia from the tournament.
The clash against Oman is scheduled to be played on Friday at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.
Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh (C), Adam Zampa, Travis Head, Ben Dwarshuis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Matt Renshaw, Josh Inglis (WK), Xavier Bartlett, Cameron Green, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cooper Connolly.
(With ANI Inputs)
