Dubai: It might have pinched him hard when Yuvraj Singh was dropped from the World Cup squad. But the hero of the previous World Cup which India won in 2011 still has his bet on the defending champions giving them the favourites tag at the elite event currently under way in Australia and New Zealand.
“India has a very good chance. They have started very well and they need to sustain the momentum. But Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are also the firm favourites,” said Singh, who will be in Dubai to play for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in the Emirates Airline Twenty20 Cricket Tournament, organised by Sport Arabia Worldwide, at 7he Sevens on March 20.
More experienced
Showering special praise on Virat Kohli, who Singh believes is the key to India’s success, he said: “He is a special player and it’s hard to find anyone as consistent as him. Scoring 22 hundreds at the age of 26 is a phenomenal achievement. He is an ultimate run machine and can handle the pressure so well. I hope he continues his great form.”
Singh said despite the team being inexperienced, they still have the quality to go all the way. “The 2011 side was more experienced than this one. We had Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Harbhajan Singh. We all played cricket for almost 10 years. This side is young but they have everything in them to cross the line.”
Looking forward to playing for MCC alongside England captain Alastair Cook he said: “It’s been fantastic. It was really amazing to play the Bi-centenary match last summer. It was such an honour to play with all the legends of the game. Now I am looking forward to doing my best in this tournament in Dubai.
“As a cricketer I want to join hands with them (MCC). I have started a small initiative, Yuvraj Singh Center of Excellence, which works at the grass roots level. Currently we are operating from nine centres in India and hope to grow more. At some stage I would like to work with MCC for these extremely talented kids who come from rural parts of India.”
Singh is also excited about the first Day and Night Test later this year in Adelaide. “Sounds interesting. Let’s see how it goes. I am sure it will add something new to the game and spectators will love to see this experiment.”
