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On February 17, 2026 19-year-old Canadian opener Yuvraj Samra made the history of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup by being the first player to score a century representing an Associate nation. Samra, against a strong New Zealand team in an important Group D game at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, had torn the Canada team apart by smashing an unbeaten 110 (using 65 balls) to a competitive 173/4 in their 20 overs.

The young left-hander, Yuvraj Singh of British Columbia, got himself known to the world named after the Indian World Cup hero. His scalding knock featured a fast 58-ball century, becoming the youngest centurion in T20 World Cup history (in either T20 or ODI format) at the age of 19 and 141 days, and taking the record off Ahmed Shehzad of Pakistan. It was also his first and maiden international century and the most individual score by an Associate batter in the tournament.

Samra opened with a good 116-run partnership with the captain, Dilpreet Bajwa (36), as New Zealand lost its attack (Lockie Ferguson was on personal leave, and Mitchell Santner was indisposed). His offensive play, with crisp strokes, strong pulls and clean sixes kept Canada in the game despite the odds of a Full Member team.

New Zealand easily pursued 174 to win (they did it with 8 wickets in hand), but Samra had taken the center stage with his innings. He was the third-youngest man to become a centurion in men's history of T20I and the first Associate player to do so in any World Cup match with a Test-playing country. His performance brought out the upcoming talent in Associate cricket and the increasing competitiveness of Canada.

The man who secured his T20I debut with an earlier performance that was followed by successful qualifiers (with the record mark of 15-ball fifty) at the time, Samra attributed his family and coaches to the achievement. "It's a dream come true. This is what playing at such level and scoring big plays against the best teams encourages me to continue playing.

The knock has generated the passion of the fans all over the world, and social media is buzzing about the next big thing in Canada. Although it did not result in triumph, the historic ton by Yuvraj Samra was a revelation that Associate nations have the potential to make global stars in the biggest stage.