Mumbai, Sep 16 (DNA): Yuvraj Singh must have felt an enormous sense of satisfaction and relief on Sunday. After all, he registered his first three-figure score since December 2012.
Mind you, Yuvraj is no stranger to comebacks. The guy has fought cancer. Need we say more? Yes, your physical fitness matters; but whatâs more important is the mental aspect of your game. Yuvraj seems to be sorted on both fronts.
âVery good. It is always amazing to get a hundred. Itâs the first game of my season and everything fell in place. I had worked quite hard in the off season and I was looking good, I was confident. Iâve been working on my batting and skills in the last couple of weeks. I just wanted to take some time at the start and attack when I needed to,â Yuvraj told reporters.
âItâs always a pleasure to get a century. Itâs taken a lot of time, but you also have to see where Iâm coming from. I havenât played much of cricket over the last four-five months,â he added.
Sundayâs knock will play an important role in Yuvrajâs comeback. His mental make-up is also likely to get a boost. âIâm too passionate about my game. In the IPL, I had a back injury and I was struggling. Things didnât go my way. I just wanted to work hard on my fitness. I worked hard when I came back from cancer and it took a while for my body to get 100 per cent fit. The doctors said it would take me about a year to get fully fit. My bodyâs improved a lot.
âI was focused on training. I was focused on overcoming my weaknesses. I wanted to improve my lung capacity and monitor my diet. In the off-season, Zak (Zaheer Khan) and I trained with Tim Exeter in France. Ashish Kaushik, who works at the NCA, also played a big part,â he said.
Talking about the six-week fitness rehabilitation stint in France, Yuvraj said, âI shed a few kilos. I wasnât that heavy when I went there, but I just wanted to make sure Iâd be sharp on the field. I worked on running between the wickets. Iâm definitely feeling a lot stronger and quicker on the ground. I just worked on those aspects and Iâm feeling much better,â he stated.
It is quite clear that the century on Sunday means a lot to him. For someone to have come back to this level of fitness itself is a big thing. But to have scored a ton is surely special. With two more one-day games and a T20 to come, Yuvi is hungry for more.
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