Cancer survivor Yuvraj in World Cup squad

• India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has been named in a preliminary 30-man squad for the Twenty20 World Cup, raising hopes of a return to international cricket after undergoing cancer treatment.

• India, Australia and New Zealand all named 30-man squads for the tournament in September and October.
• But the biggest revelation was the selection of 30-year-old Yuvraj, who has played 37 tests, more than 250 one-dayers and 23 Twenty20 internationals, but has not appeared in any form of the game since last November when he was diagnosed with lung cancer.
• He underwent chemotherapy in the United States before returning to India in April to continue his rehabilitation.
• The player of the tournament at last year's 50-over World Cup won by hosts India, Yuvraj told ICC media last month he had started training in the hope of playing for India at Twenty20's showpiece event in Sri Lanka in September and October.

Yuvraj played a major role in putting the shortest form of the sport on the map when he blasted six sixes in one over off England's Stuart Broad at the inaugural World Cup in South Africa in 2007.

India squad: MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, R. Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav, Ashok Dinda, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Mandeep Singh, Piyush Chawla, Ravindra Jadeja, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Naman Ojha, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, L. Balaji

Australia Squad: George Bailey, Travis Birt, Dan Christian, Pat Cummins, Xavier Doherty, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Ryan Harris, Ben Hilfenhaus, Brad Hogg, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Ben Laughlin, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Andrew McDonald, Clint McKay, Dirk Nannes, Stephen O'Keefe, Tim Paine, Rob Quiney, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Voges, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Shane Watson, Cameron White

New Zealand squad: Ross Taylor (c), Michael Bates, Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Neil Broom, Dean Brownlie, Colin de Grandhomme, Andrew Ellis, Daniel Flynn, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Roneel Hira, Anaru Kitchen, Tom Latham, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Peter McGlashan, Andy McKay, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Tarun Nethula, Rob Nicol, Jacob Oram, Tim Southee, Daniel Vettori, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson, Luke Woodcock, George Worker

• The 30-year-old, regarded as one of the most flamboyant batsmen in world cricket, completed chemotherapy in the United States in April after being diagnosed with a rare germ-cell tumour between his lungs early last year.
• Yuvraj, who has not played competitive cricket since the two home Tests against the West Indies in November, only recently began light training at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.
• It is not certain that Yuvraj will be selected in the final 15-man squad that must be finalised by mid-August for the September 18-October 7 tournament.
• The left-hander will need to play club cricket in the intervening period if he is to remain a serious contender for the tournament.
• Yuvraj, speaking in an International Cricket Council television show last month, declined to give a time frame on being match-fit.
• “I’ve done six or seven sessions of very light training and very light yoga,” he said. “I’m just getting back into the groove of being a normal person.
• “I can’t really give a timeframe but I have to see how my body is recovering and how fast I can come on the field. I might take six months, I might take two months. So I don’t know.
• “But the day I feel 100 percent I surely will be back.”
• Yuvraj played a key role in India’s 50-over World Cup triumph last year, scoring 362 runs and taking 15 wickets in nine matches to be named the man of the tournament.
• He rose to fame when he smashed England’s fast bowler Stuart Broad for six sixes in one over during the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007, which India went on to win.
• India failed to reach the semi-finals in the next two editions in 2009 in England and 2010 in the West Indies.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has been out of favour since the England tour last year, was also named in the preliminary squad announced by the Indian board in a media release.