India’s former head coach Gary Kirsten recently made a revelation that stunned cricket fans. Kirsten, who guided India to their historic ICC World Cup 2011 win after 28 years, revealed that Yuvraj Singh, who went on to become the Player of the Tournament, wasn’t even among the front-runners for selection before the event.

Gary Kristen reveals Yuvraj Singh’s selection for ODI World Cup 2011 was not on the cards

Speaking to Rediff.com, Kirsten revealed that Yuvraj’s selection for the World Cup 2011 wasn’t a straightforward decision. It was a close call, with selectors deeply debating the final 15-member squad. However, both Kirsten and captain Ms Dona strongly backed Yuvraj because of the experience he brought to the group. In the end, their faith paid off, as Yuvraj went on to have a remarkable World Cup campaign, eventually being named the Player of the Tournament.

“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,” Kirsten stated.

Meanwhile, Kirsten shared that he was always very fond of Yuvraj and the two shared a unique relationship. While Yuvraj would sometimes frustrate him, Kirsten deeply admired his talent and loved watching him bat. He always wanted Yuvraj to keep scoring runs, as his batting was a delight to witness. Kirsten also acknowledged that Yuvraj had a journey of growth and transformation, giving credit to mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton for playing a key role in that process.

“I was always very fond of Yuvraj. We had this kind of great relationship where like, he used to frustrate the hell out of me sometimes, but I just loved him. He was good. I just want him to be scoring runs all the time because when I watch him bat, it’s just like amazing to watch. But there was a journey he had to walk and credit to Paddy,” Kirsten further added.