New Delhi: In what may come as a shock to many, former India head coach Gary Kirsten has revealed Yuvraj Singh was not a certainty in India’s squad for the 2011 ODI World Cup. Kirsten said it was ‘flipping close’ as he recalled how the selectors nearly left Yuvraj out of the squad. However, he and MS Dhoni convinced them to pick the star all-rounder in the final 15.
Yuvraj turned out to be one of the heroes for India as the Men in Blue lifted the 2011 ODI World Cup trophy after beating Sri Lanka in the final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Yuvraj bagged the Player of the Tournament award for his all-round heroics, bagging 15 wickets and notching up an impressive 362 runs with an average of over 90 in the competition.
Yuvraj slammed four consecutive half-centuries for India during the tournament, including a match-winning unbeaten 57 against Australia in the quarter-final in Ahmedabad. Yuvraj also finished with excellent figures of 2/44 in the game to bag the Player of the Match award and help India win by 5 wickets to book a spot in the semi-final.
However, Kirsten recently recalled how Yuvraj might not have been part of the 2011 ODI World Cup-winning squad as selectors were not convinced at the time. The World Cup-winning coach revealed he and Dhoni were keen on having Yuvraj, considering his experience and their choice finally prevailed as Yuvraj got the nod.
“Thank goodness we picked him because it was flipping close, he was. It was not a slam-dunk selection. The selectors kind of debated around the 15 players. I was very keen to have him in the team, as was Dhoni, because of the experience that he brought to the group. And look at the World Cup he ended up having,” Kirsten told Rediff.com.
Yuvraj’s all-round heroics were even more celebrated after it was revealed post the tournament that he performed for India while battling cancer. The former India all-rounder was diagnosed with cancer after the tournament ended, and underwent treatment in the US before making his comeback in the Indian team.
I was always very fond of Yuvraj: Kirsten
2011 ODI World Cup-winning coach Kirsten also provided insights into his relationship with Yuvraj and said he was very fond of the ex-India all-rounder. Kirsten said it was amazing for him to watch a player like Yuvraj bat, and that he always wanted him to continue scoring runs for the Indian team. He also revealed how Yuvraj worked hard with former India mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton to be fully prepared for the 2011 World Cup.
“I was always very fond of Yuvraj. We had this kind of great relationship where like, he used to frustrate the hell out of me sometimes, but I just loved him. He was good. I just want him to be scoring runs all the time because when I watch him bat, it’s just like amazing to watch. But there was a journey he had to walk, and credit to Paddy,” said Kirsten.
“Paddy did a lot of work with Yuvi to get him ready for that World Cup. Yuvi himself made some key decisions around getting himself prepared and ready for the World Cup,” he added.