As one entered the conference room of a hotel on the outskirts of the cityon a humid Friday afternoon, a leaner Yuvraj Singh, promoting a real estate consultancy in an advertisement, welcomed with an air that has always been his trademark.
After watching the advertisement several times, one couldn’t help but wonder at the coincidence that the name of the consultancy aptly described Yuvi’s recent rendezvous in France, where he ‘invested’ his energies in a fitness ‘clinic’ to gain a call-up for the national team. Dropped from the side earlier this year, Yuvraj slipped away to Brive la Gaillarde, a small town in France, with an aim to get back into a shape which could fit him into Indian jersey. He along with Zaheer Khan joined well-known fitness expert Tim Exeter for six weeks of rigorous training.
The result of the training was quite visible when the real Yuvi emerged on the stage with a coffee mug in his hand. A few jokes and a presentation later, media was allowed to ask a few questions to Yuvraj.So, why did he not train at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in BangaloreIJ “After recovering from cancer I trained at the NCA for a while. It was a conscious decision to get away from the distractions that we have over here. I wanted to have a different environment to concentrate on a specific fitness regime, proper diet. Basically work with a purpose,” Yuvraj told mediapersons during the launch of Investors Clinic’s property helpline number.
Then came the typical Yuvi-style reply. “Another reason was to stay away from you guys. It was of great help. Actually not always!” Since his exclusion from the team, India have made huge progress in all formats of the game. Several young players have established themselves. Yuvraj, who helped India win the World Cup in 2011, believes that a team can’t be selected on the basis of past laurels but he reminded everyone that contribution of senior players can’t be forgotten easily.
“Most important thing is that we put forward the best XI, with or without me. I believe that a team should be a blend of youth and experience. I am not saying that past success should be taken into account while selecting a present team but people shouldn’t forget what we have done for the team in past,” Yuvraj said. The 31-year-old said playing for India is most important for him. “I am doing what I can do to get back into the Indian team. I want to make a comeback as soon as possible. I never had any doubts about my game,” the left-hander said.
He has already ticked the fitness box but he is yet to prove his form with the bat. For that he will have to play in seasonal tournament but he opted out of a pre-season tournament like Buchi Babu. “I could only play Buchi Babu or Moin-ud Dowla if my state association is playing in the tournament,” Yuvraj tried to fend off the question.
As per the rules, a senior India player can request any state association to take him as a guest player and play in these pre-season tourneys. On Zaheer, Yuvraj said the pacer had shed around 6 kilos in six weeks and is looking a lot fitter. “Zak has been very disciplined about his diet and has shed 6 kgs. He is looking in great shape. We are good friends and it helped us during the training.”