'Thank goodness we picked him...': 2011 ODI WC winning coach Kirsten's shocking revelation on Yuvraj selection

Former India coach Gary Kirsten has recently revealed that the BCCI selectors had a tough time in deciding whether to include Yuvraj Singh in the 2011 ODI WC squad or not. He said it was a very close call at that time but it was him and captain MS Dhoni who strongly supported Yuvraj Singh selection in the team. It was very clear that in the end their opinion regarding the selection of Yuvraj Singh in the team won. Yuvraj went on to become the Player of the Tournament and helped India to win their second ICC ODI World Cup after 28 years.

During the 2011 ODI World Cup the left-handed batter from the Punjab scored 362 runs in eight matches at an impressive average of over 90.50. He also took 15 wickets with his part-time spin and maintained a good economy rate of just five runs per over (5.02).

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His important 2011 ODI World Cup performances included three back-to-back fifties in the group stage, an important half-century in the quarter-finals against Australia and a century against the West Indies. Surprisingly, he achieved all of these innings while battling with the cancer.

“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 told Rediff.com.

"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," added Kirsten. “Paddy did a lot of work with Yuvi to get him ready for that World Cup. Yuvi himself made some key decisions around getting himself prepared and ready for the World Cup," Kirsten added.

Yuvi was at the non-striker’s end when his captain MS Dhoni added the finishing touch with a huge six in the final against Sri Lanka in Mumbai.