Need time to settle down if picked, says Yuvraj

Yuvraj Singh is hoping to play in the national colours before he finishes his career

The story of Yuvraj Singh is an inspirational one for any human being. Battling cancer and coming back to play cricket is not a trivial task. The 33-year-old fought all odds and has made it back to cricket after being diagnosed with lung cancer following the 2011 World Cup.

Since his recovery, Yuvraj has been featuring regularly for his state Punjab in the Ranji Trophy. The main intention, of course, is to make his way back into the Indian national squad and finish his cricket career on a high.

In an interview with TOI, Yuvraj revealed his ambitions to get back into the Indian national team and his hopes to remain there for a longer time than his previous comeback, when he probably was not given enough time to make his mark.

Yuvraj played his last international game in April 2014, in the final of the 2014 T20 World Cup Final against Sri Lanka.

“It's not easy, but I would definitely try to return to the national side if there is an opportunity. If I make the grade again, I should be given a decent period of time to perform. I had missed cricket for about a year and a half and right off the bat people wanted me to perform the same way I used to in the past,” Yuvraj said.

It is a very well known fact that playing for India comes with a lot of expectations. A nation of over a billion people keeping tabs on how a cricketer is performing is not something that can be easily ignored.

As an Indian cricketer, learning to live with the expectations is crucial, and Yuvraj realises this. However, it is only fair that a person like Yuvraj who has gone through a lot in the last five years deserves more than just a few games to prove himself.

Yuvraj also spoke about the present Indian Test captain, Virat Kohli and Kohli's aggressive approach to the game. The all-rounder felt that Kohli needed to be given time to mature into a better cricketer.

“He has been very aggressive all his life and it's not easy for him to change his attitude overnight. People go after him saying he's too aggressive but yes he is an aggressive young man and wants to do well for his country. Is that wrong? You have to give him a little time. He also knows that his aggression gets the best out of him,” Yuvraj said.

Yuvraj also quashed any rumours of a bad relationship between MS Dhoni and himself telling that Dhoni would be his ‘friend forever’. Before the 2015 World Cup, Yuvraj's father Yograj Singh had stated that Dhoni was responsible for Yuvraj not getting a call-up to the world cup squad.

“Look, I don't have any control over what my father says. But I have never said Mahi had thrown me out of the team. I want to make it very clear that we are very good friends and I have never had any problems with Mahi,” the Punjab player said.

In the recently concluded Ranjit Trophy match for Punjab, Yuvraj and his teammates annihilated Tamil Nadu as they won by 243 runs. Punjab are currently second in the Group B table. After a modest performance so far this season, Yuvraj will be hoping to get back in form to earn a place in the national team setup at the earliest.