Yuvraj Singh is a fighter and we all know it, he
fought his way through cancer to make it back to the national team. Even
though fate has landed body blows on him one after the other, the
Punjab southpaw has always stood up to look adversity into the eye, even
when many thought his career was over.
The 31-year-old, who played significant roles in India's World T20
win in 2007 and the World Cup in 2011, finds himself in an all-too
familiar situation after struggling for form, fitness and runs. But that
is only acting as a spur for Yuvraj.
In an interview with a leading national daily, he declared that the
2015 World Cup was his goal and that he hoped to be back for the ODI
series in October against Australia.
"2015 is very much a goal, and the target. I am really determined
to make it happen," said Yuvraj in an e-mail correspondence. "After
recovering from cancer I started well. But then I had issues with my
form and back during the IPL. I have seen many ups and downs to deal
with this. Hopefully, the coming season will turn things around. I am
giving my best. That is what I can do. Rest is destiny," he explained.
During his early days, Yuvraj had to compete with legends to find a
place in the eleven; now, it's the youngsters who are keeping him out.
The irony is not lost on him. "I've played international cricket for 13
years. There's not a single day when you don't have pressure on you.
That's how it is supposed to be. This kind of competition shows the
depth in Indian cricket and it's a great sign," he said. Yuvraj sounded
agitated when asked if he should have played a full domestic season
before returning to international cricket.
"I think people are so focused on international cricket that they
hardly follow domestic cricket. Whenever I was available and not playing
international cricket,
I played for Punjab and North Zone. I did reasonably well to make a
comeback into the Indian side. Just before the IPL, I developed back
spasms and that troubled me through the entire tournament. But that
injury is now healed completely and I am looking forward to the new
season."
The coming season will definitely set the tone for the future.
Yuvraj realizes that and is currently in Brive-la-Gaillarde, Southern
France, training with renowned trainer Tim Exeter, who is known to have
worked with the likes of Ryan Giggs and some of the top rugby players in
the world. Leaving stardom behind, the duo is staying as paying guest
with a local family.
The 42-day course has virtually cut off the fun-loving cricketer
from the world, who along with fellow India teammate Zaheer Khan, has
gone into tapasya mode to enhance their endurance levels.
"My immediate goal is to acquire prime fitness. This long lay-off
has given me enough time to assess my fitness and game and work on the
areas I need to improve. Currently Zaheer and I are working with Exeter.
He has created a world-class setup for individual training and it has
worked very well for me so far. It's a beautiful, isolated place.
Natural surroundings inspire you to work hard and keep you fresh."
Giving details about his training regimen, Yuvraj said the training
involved, among other things, roving and beach running. "This training
schedule of 4-5 hours every day is extremely exhausting and leaves you
drained. But with each passing day I am feeling fitter and stronger," he
said. Once he's done with the fitness camp, Yuvraj intends to start
playing domestic cricket to stake his claim in the ODI squad.
"I'm eyeing local tournaments and domestic cricket in September and
want to make a comeback in October against Australia. If that doesn't
happen, I will prepare for the next Ranji season. I am sure with some
good knocks and quality time in the middle, things will fall in place. I
want to take it one step at a time. I am confident about the outcome,"
he said.
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