Former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh underlined the need of self-belief during the trophy tour event in Mumbai on Monday, August 11, particularly when things begin to unravel, as they usually do in major championships. With only 50 days until India opens their 50-over Women’s World Cup campaign at home, one of the best World Cup veterans has provided useful advise on how to manage expectations while playing in the heated Indian atmosphere.
Having gone through such high pressure moments, when India waited 28 years to win the Men World in 2011 Yuvraj feels that his experience would help Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and through the entire India Women squad to just get through the tough times of a grand event like World Cups.
“The fans are always wanting fours and sixes, or wickets. That’s the game. They come to watch. They want entertainment. They want to be entertained. There will be times when things are not going to go well. And that’s the time when the experience, the self-belief, has to take over. The belief that I can be the player at this moment. I think every time you walk in the game, you have to believe that,” Yuvraj said as quoted by The Indian Express.
“Always be in the moment” – Yuvraj Singh’s Golden Advice
The Chandigarh-born remembered that following a defeat to South Africa at Nagpur, India suffered in the world cup of 2011, the media backlash had begun. That is when the team under the guidance of Sachin Tendulkar and coach Gary Kirsten worked out a plan to deal with the pressure and the team decided not to watch television and read the newspapers to kill the outside noise. Remarkably, this was the only game in the event, that the Men in Blue lost in the year to Proteas.
“Social media wasn’t big that time, right? Now it is. Gary said when you walk through crowds, you’re ok to go and sign signatures but put on your headphones. Go and focus on your field. When you go back to your room, put your headphones back on. Be in that moment, cut the noise, and try and do what you need to do.”
Yuvraj Singh
The Women in Blue will begin their campaign against the Lankan Lionesses on September 30 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, and they will play each team in a round-robin format.
