Our Bureau
New Delhi
Gary Kirsten, the former Head Coach of the Indian side which lifted the 2011 World Cup, has made a shocking revelation that no Indian cricket fan would’ve expected. Yuvraj Singh, who was the star of India’s 2011 triumph and was awarded the Player of the Series, was not certain to be picked in the squad going into the tournament.
Gary Kirsten in a recent interview revealed that the selectors were having a debate around the name of Yuvraj Singh before they picked the 15-man squad. The left-arm allrounder had a dull 2010, where he wasn’t performing well and that was hindering his selection in the squad.
Eventually India ended up picking him in the team and he became the hero of India’s legendary World Cup win after 28-years year. The former Head Coach, Kirsten stated how he and MS Dhoni were the ones who were pressuring for Yuvraj’s selection in the squad because of the experience he brought in the team.
Kirsten stated, “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.”.
The former South African cricketer, also talked about how Paddy Upton, mental conditioning coach had a lot to do with how Yuvraj fared in that World Cup. Kirsten emphasized that Upton should get a lot of credit for how Yuvi played in that World Cup and so should Yuvi himself for the preparation he did.
“There was a journey he had to walk and credit to Paddy (Upton). 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,” Kirsten said.
