Yuvraj Singh reminisces about 2011 World Cup memories on Virat Kohli's 38th birthday

Indian cricket veteran Yuvraj Singh has reminisced about old memories with Virat Kohli on his 38th birthday. According to a report by Sportsstar, Yuvraj Singh has closely watched Virat Kohli's journey from a young player to becoming one of the world's biggest stars. Yuvraj Singh stated that he played an important role in helping Virat Kohli understand his capability and reach those heights.

Yuvraj Singh recalled that batting with Virat was always enjoyable. He mentioned that they had batted together even in domestic cricket and were always joking around on the field. There were many partnerships between them during the 2011 World Cup, with Virat batting at number 4 and Yuvraj at number 5. Sharing a funny anecdote during this time, Yuvraj said, "I think Virat got run out twice while batting with me, and both times he blamed me, even though the mistake was actually his. He still won't admit this."

Yuvraj and Virat's first international partnership took place in 2008 in Dambulla, Sri Lanka. After Virat got out in the first ODI, Yuvraj came to the crease, but two days later, both batted together. Yuvraj recalled that at that time Virat's batting position was constantly changing; he had batted as an opener in five matches and at number 7 in the last two matches. Their first partnership was for only 36 runs, but it was very important as the team was at 16 runs for 2 wickets.

Yuvraj believes that the main reason for Virat's success is his hard work and discipline. During the tour of South Africa in 2010, before the 2011 World Cup, Yuvraj was impressed by Virat's play. He noted that despite being a young player, Virat looked very comfortable against the pace and bounce there and his technique was strong. During that tour, Virat played brilliant innings of 54 runs in Durban and 87 not out in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth). According to Yuvraj, if it had not rained, Virat would have scored a century in Gqeberha.

When Yuvraj returned to the team after cancer treatment following the World Cup, he saw a big change in Virat. Yuvraj observed that Virat had now become stronger, fitter, and leaner. He had changed his diet and his way of working hard to become better had completely changed. This hunger and passion for work were remarkable to Yuvraj.

Yuvraj spoke about two special partnerships with Virat. The first was against Australia in Visakhapatnam in 2010, where while chasing a difficult target of 290 runs, Virat scored 118 runs and Yuvraj scored 58 runs, providing good support to each other. The other memorable partnership was against West Indies in Chennai during the 2011 World Cup, in which Yuvraj scored 113 runs and Virat, batting at number 3, scored 59 runs. Yuvraj expressed sadness that he himself was not in the team when Virat was at the peak of his career and scoring plenty of runs.

Speaking about his relationship with Virat as a teammate, Yuvraj said that many things were similar between them and they had a lot of fun together. However, when Virat became captain, Yuvraj saw a different side of him. He stated that when responsibility falls on a person and they become captain, many things change and they have to lead from the front. Yuvraj noted that this was a time when he himself was not a big part of the team.

Yuvraj Singh was a renowned Indian cricketer, known for his aggressive batting and brilliant fielding. He has mentored many young players, including players like Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma, who have benefited from his advice.