Gary Kristen recalls story of MS Dhoni debating with selectors over star player in 2011 ODI World Cup

India’s former coach from the 2011 ODI World Cup-winning campaign, Gary Kirsten, has dropped a huge story that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors were not prepared to select Yuvraj Singh for the event. He called it a ‘flipping close’ besides informing how he and the captain of the side, MS Dhoni, were keen to get the all-rounder in the squad. 

Yuvraj ended as the Player of the Tournament, as it ended India’s 28-year-old drought of winning an ICC title since the 1983 Prudential trophy. The pressure was huge on the Indian side as no team had won the title at home before that season. Moreover, it was the last chance for Sachin Tendulkar to keep his hands on the glorious medal.

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‘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.’ The former South Africa batter expressed during a recent interaction on Rediff.com.

Gary Kirsten recalls story of how MS Dhoni forced the BCCI selectors to pick Yuvraj Singh  

Yuvraj smashed 362 runs in eight innings of the tournament at an average of over 90, besides picking up 15 wickets with his part-time bowling, thanks to an economy rate of just over five. He also scored three successive half-centuries in the group stage of the competition, besides a match-winning fifty against Australia in the quarter-final.

'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 amazing to watch. But there was a journey he had to walk, and credit to Paddy.’ Kirsten added that Paddy Upton did a lot of work with the Punjab-born to hold his shape.

In the final, MS Dhoni decided to put himself up the order over Yuvraj Singh to counter Muttiah Muralitharan’s off-spin. It was the renowned, well-discussed six to end the game for the Blue Brigade and lift the title.