‘I found Yuvi's energy was really low.’ - Sachin Tendulkar recalls his hotel room chat with Yuvraj Singh before 2011 World Cup

Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh were crucial parts of team India in their 50-over World Cup winning campaign in 2011. Both these players’ contributions were instrumental and Yuvraj Singh won the player of the Tournament award. Yuvraj was terrific with both the bat and the ball in that tournament.

He scored 362 runs and scalped 15 wickets throughout the tournament. Now, the former India batter, Sachin Tendulkar recalled a hotel room chat with the former star all-rounder before that World Cup. It was a day before India's opening game of the campaign against Bangladesh and spoke about Yuvraj's performances in training and on the field.

“I found Yuvi's energy was really low.” - Sachin Tendulkar on Yuvraj Singh

During an event organized by Infosys, Sachin Tendulkar said: “I found Yuvi's energy was really low. At that time, nobody knew that he had that illness. One only realised that after the 2011 World Cup. Before that, I felt his energy levels were low, so I called him to my room on the evening of our first match. I said, ‘Yuvi, chalo ham dinner karte hain’.”

“We started chatting and just before leaving my room, I told him, 'From tomorrow, I'm going to send goals for you and they start from your fielding. You were a really athletic fielder and I find your energy levels have dropped a bit,” Tendulkar added. 

“From tomorrow, our practice sessions will be different. I expect you to push a little harder. If you want, we will work together and I will give my honest feedback. I can guarantee you that your graph will slowly but surely go upward, and at the crunch moment, you will matter when it matters, Yuvi. Keep working hard, that process is important. Peaking at the right time is important',” Sachin Tendulkar concluded. However, this pep talk from the legendary batter of India worked wonders for Yuvraj as he came up with outstanding performances to help team India to lift the trophy after a long gap of 28 years.