Yuvraj Singh Shares Unheard Sachin Tendulkar, Gary Kirsten Tale From 2011 World Cup

The highly anticipated ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 will begin in less than two months and the excitement among the fans is rising every day. The host nation India is all set to conduct the prestigious ICC tournament, which will kick-start from September 30. India, who are yet to win a Women's World Cup title, will aim to give their best at their home under the captaincy of Harmanpreet Kaur. This year's tournament was officially launched on Monday by ICC chairman Jay Shah, along with former cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Mithali Raj in Mumbai.

During the event, the great all-rounder Yuvraj Singh spoke to the Indian women's team and motivated them by narrating a moment from the 2011 Men's World Cup.

During 2011 World Cup, India lost a match against South Africa and tied a game against England. Following this, the MS Dhoni-led side was slammed by the fans but the players were instructed by none other than Sachin Tendulkar and Gary Kirsten to focus on their game and not on the news.

"I will give you an example of what we felt at that time. Until then, no country had won the World Cup at home, and it had been 28 years since we won a World Cup. I remember we tied the game against England and we lost to South Africa, from a winning position. We got a lot of backlash," Yuvraj said during the event.

"I remember Sachin Tendulkar and coach Gary Kirsten coming and having a chat with us - 'From here on what are the things we need to do to win the tournament - no one is going to watch TV; no one is going to read the newspaper; when you walk towards the ground put your headphones on, to focus on the field. While going back to your room, put your headphones back on. Cut the noise and try to do what you need to do to win the tournament," he added.

The advice from the greats actually worked in India's favour as they went on to reach the final and defeat Sri Lanka to lift the title after 28 years.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team India Women Yuvraj Singh Harmanpreet Kaur Cricket