‘Back-to-back seasons in domestic cricket wasn’t easy’
Happy? Yes, but also disappointed. That was Yuvraj Singh a day after he was named in the India T20 squad for Australia. In a freewheeling chat with HT, he laid bare his emotions on the comeback. Excerpts: How did you stay motivated while out of the team? It is tough when you play two seasons back-to-back in domestic cricket after playing 13-14 years of international cricket. That was the only way back I guess, so I kept doing
that. You just have to keep working hard and be positive. I have a great set of close friends and family who keep me motivated; people who always push me to work in the right direction. Are you surprised you are not in the ODI team? Yes, I am disappointed. I was batting so well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. I knew it was a matter of a few innings and I should be back in the group again. I was bowling well, fielding good too. When you don’t get picked, there is disappointment. But there is also an opportunity to play in the Twenty20s, so it’s a bit of a mixed feeling. Do you regret not playing well in the 2014 World T20 final? No. It’s just one bad game, any player can have that. It was unfortunate it was the World Cup final. Had it been a league game, there wouldn’t have been so much noise. I don’t have any regrets, and I always try my best. You had set fitness standards, but now you are 34. People who have played till say 38 or 39 also have set the standards. A lot of other teams have players continuing till that age. But it’s good to have youngsters too. What will be your focus now? I have to get in the groove very quickly because I was playing days cricket, and now 50 overs. In T20s, you hardly have time to settle down and start hitting. You have to run on every ball, field and catch, so I have to do that before I go to Australia. There won’t be much time to get used to the conditions, so that’s important. What has been your regimen over the last two years? After my recovery, I went to France, and did a lot of running because my body was reacting very slowly. It was a huge part of my life. The more you run the more you feel good about yourself. How big a role did Sachin (Tendulkar) play during this time? When I didn’t get picked for the 2015 World Cup, he told me it’s important to respect the game; he said I should be happy with what the game has given me and hopefully things will turn around. He said it’s in my destiny to play (for India) and he was sure I will come back.