Yuvraj Singh may be currently out of favour but the hugely confident southpaw made a strong statement to the selectors as well as his peers that he’s still a big contender for a slot in the Indian middle order which is quite open.
For sure, Yuvraj may still need a few more solid knocks to seal his berth, but for now he’s happy to have made an early impression. Yuvraj, a member of the 2011 World Cup winning squad, who underwent a six-week rehabilitation and fitness programme in Brive la gaillarde, France, along with Zaheer Khan in August last scored a century in December 2012 in a Ranji Trophy game.
With his off-season efforts clearly on display, the 31-year-old said, “It is always amazing to get a hundred. It’s the first game of my season, everything fell in place. I’d worked hard in the off season and I was confident. I’ve been working on my batting skills in the last couple of weeks. I just wanted to take some time at the start and attack when I needed to.”
From being a match-winner for the country, to leading the ‘A’ squad, it may appear to be a fall in standards for the batsman, who is counted among the best in the business. But the warrior, who fought cancer believes it’s the passion which keeps him going.
“I think my passion for the game motivated me. I worked hard when I came back from cancer and it took a while for my body to get a 100 per cent fit. I was focused on where I had my weaknesses, on my lung capacity, my diet, in my off-season with Zak (Zaheer).
And, Tim Exeter, whom we trained with, has done wonders for me and Zak in terms of getting back,” he said.