New Delhi: Yuvraj Singhwho made his debut in Nairobi, Kenya ICC Knockout Tournamentplaying football under the leadership of the captain Sourav Ganguly. India reached the final but failed to lift the trophy as New Zealand Beat them by 4 wickets in the last game.
India defeated Australia by 20 runs in the quarter-finals and South Africa by 95 runs in the semi-finals. Sourav Ganguly emerged as the top run scorer with 348 runs while Venkatesh Prasad Was the leading wicket taker in the tournament with eight wickets.
Sourav Ganguly, now former captain and former chairman BCCIShared an incident when he asked a security guard to keep an eye on young Yuvraj Singh during his debut series.
“For Yuvraj Singh, the first thing I did was make sure he reached his hotel room by 9:30 pm,” Ganguly shared at an event.
“He traveled to Kenya and I still can’t forget the day we landed in Nairobi championship trophy 2001.
“As soon as we landed, the first thing I did was call security. He was a big, 6-foot-4 guy, very strong. His arms were as big as my shoulders, so I pulled him aside. Say, ‘Listen, man, you need to keep an eye on this kid.
The security guard asked: “Who is this child?”
Ganguly replied: “He is the youngest member of the team and a great young player but he loves life. So you have to keep an eye on him.
The security guard asked: “Then what should I do?”
To which the former captain replied: “Just make sure he’s in his room after 9:30pm the night before the game.” If he’s not, please come and tell me. Don’t tell the manager because you and I will go find him and bring him back because I need him to perform the next morning.
A guard was appointed for Yuvi’s safety. #yuvrajsingh #souravganguly #indiancricketteam
In his first match, Yuvraj Singh vs. Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul DravidTendulkar scored 171 runs, Dravid 151 runs and Yuvraj 143 runs.
