Meet Will Young, the New Zealand batsman who has India obsessed: the ‘cricket introvert’s indecision may have got him sent off, but his humility and charity work is winning hearts
- The New Zealand national cricket team’s batsman trended as ‘indecisive’ by among cricket fans after his slow reaction to a bad call in a recent game against India
- The 29-year-old ended up getting himself sent off, but he remains a proud Black Cap, loves to travel, and won’t even let shoulder surgery get him down
He’s the Black Cap Indians are obsessed with. After an awkward call on the field in the first test between New Zealand and India in November, Will Young (not the singer, obvs) has caught the attention of the sporting world. But what else do we know about the young batsman? Well, there’s more to him that just cricket.
An internet sensation for all the wrong reasons
Young, 29, made global headlines in November 2021 after he took forever to decide he wanted to review a decision on day four of the first test between New Zealand and India in Kanpur. Young went out on a LBW (leg before wicket) call from the umpire, which turned out to be an incorrect decision. But by the time Young had reviewed it and decided to request a television review, the timer had gone down to zero and Young was out.
The move saw him make the trends list on Twitter with many calling him the “cricket introvert” and “indecisive”. He immediately sprang onto the Google trends list in India, with thousands of cricket fanatics wanting to know more about the young cricket star whose hesitation made him walk.
Charity work
Although 2019 was meant to be the year he made it big, a shoulder injury that needed surgery kept him off the field. But during his nine-month rehab, while he was initially concerned about his career and how his injury would affect his fitness, he decided to channel his energy into an initiative that gave back to the game.