Out of favour Yuvraj Singh, hero of the 2011 cricket World Cup, said on Friday he was not thinking too much about the 2015 World Cup and was doing everything possible to regain his place in the Indian team, says a report in The Times Of India, adding that he was happy with the way the young Indian team had fared under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, winning the Champions Trophy and the ODI series in Zimbabwe, but felt it is the mix of young and experience that makes a team great.
"I am very happy with the way the youngsters have been performing. But it is the balance of seniors and youngsters that makes a team strong. For me, the most important thing is to play for the country and I will do every thing possible to play for the country again," said Yuvraj during a media interaction here.
According to a report in Deccan Chronicle, Yuvraj firmly believes that a team can't be selected on the basis of past laurels but the southpaw, who was man-of-the-series during the 2011 World Cup reminded everyone that contribution of senior Indian players can't be forgotten easily. "With or without me, India should select the best XI. 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 one shouldn't forget what we have achieved for the country," Yuvraj said when asked whether he still considers himself in the scheme ahead of the coming season.
On his chances for the 2015 World Cup, he said, "The 2015 World Cup is very far. We still have an year and half for the World Cup, it remains a part of my goal and I want to take it happen. But my immediate goal is to play for India as soon as possible. For that I have to play as much cricket as I can before the Challengers."
He hasn't set himself a fixed target to make a comeback but would ideally like to claw his way back quickly. "I want to make a comeback as soon as possible and I am pretty focussed about my game."
According to a report in The Hindu, Yuvraj, along with Zaheer Khan, had spent six weeks training in France to get back in shape and Yuvraj feels that training away from India and away from the constant media scrutiny helped him. Yuvraj and Zaheer underwent intense fitness training at Brive La Gaillarde, a market town in southern France. They trained under coach Tim Exeter, a high performance physical trainer well known in Europe’s rugby and soccer fields.
“After recovering from cancer, I trained at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for a while. But I wanted to train away from India because there are a lot of distractions here. Just staying away from you (media) was of great help,” said Yuvraj.