Will do all that I can to get back, says Yuvraj Singh

Out of favour Indian batsman, Yuvraj Singh is hitting the practice sessions these days. The southpaw is keen on making a comeback to the national side yet again. In a recent conversation with Sportstar, Yuvraj spoke at length about how he is planning to regain his place in the Indian team. Despite being out of the national side for almost a year now, he is still very hopeful of making the cut yet again.

The veteran batsman cited the bygone year of 2016 as a mixed one for him. He remarked how he staged a comeback this year in the T20Is down under. However, it was an injury in the key match against Australia at the World T20 at Mohali that saw him sidelined thereafter.

Summing up his year, Yuvi said, “It has been a mixed sort of year. I started 2016 on a good note by getting back into the Indian T20 side, but got injured at a very crucial juncture during the World T20 game against Australia at Mohali. I had to miss a few IPL games as well. But, then, we (Hyderabad Sunrisers) had a great season and won the tournament. After that, I got back to domestic cricket and scored some runs to stake my claim. And then the year ended with my getting married. It was a year that made me a better cricketer because I was able to make a realistic assessment of my game. I discovered that my passion had not ebbed a bit.”

Speaking further, he pointed out that it is indeed tough to get back to domestic cricket after being in the international circuit for over 16 years. He spoke about how playing Ranji Trophy brought back memories of his early days in cricket.

“It is very tough, and one has to be extremely motivated to do this. It is like starting all over again. It brought back memories of my early days in competitive cricket. But if you have the desire to excel and the willingness to do anything to make a comeback, then that’s how you are going to do it. I still feel I have few more years of cricket left in me, and I will do all it takes to get back into the side and win games for India,” he quoted.

Yuvraj Singh had a decent season for Punjab in the Ranji Trophy this year. He scored a couple of big knocks and that set the tone for talks about his national comeback.

Reflecting on the season, he said, “Yes, before taking a break for my wedding, I had a very good run and got close to 700 runs in five matches. So that’s very satisfying. My job is to get on the ground and get runs. I loved my knock at Lahli (against Madhya Pradesh) where I made runs on a challenging pitch. I was hit all over but the runs I made could not have been more precious. It told me that there was nothing wrong with my cricket.”

Lastly, he revealed that he will put every effort possible to get back in the reckoning of the selectors. Yuvraj quite confidently said, “I am training hard and have the confidence of getting the runs. I feel I still have a lot to offer, and I will do my best to regain my place in the side. I will do all that I can to get the call from the selectors, and take it from there. “