Yuvraj trying his best to get an opportunity to come back into the Indian team

HE MAY NOT have donned the Indian colours for more than 18 months, but World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh hasn’t given up on his cricketing dreams yet.

Punjab’s preparation for a long 2015-2016 Ranji Trophy season is in full swing, and Yuvraj is at the forefront of it. His return to the Wankhede Stadium for the encounter against Mumbai evokes memories of the glorious 2011 World Cup victory, which centred on the heroics of an emotional Yuvraj. It has been more than three years since Yuvi started his fight against a rare cancer, and his comeback has been rather inspirational. 33-year old Yuvi’s return to international cricket might be a distant dream, given that he last played for India at the World T20 final two years ago. But the cricketer has his hopes up and continues to work towards it.

"Just want to play and enjoy my cricket," Yuvraj told media persons on the eve of Punjab’s second Ranji match of the season.

"If I get opportunity to come back and play for India I look forward to that. These are the games which will give me opportunity to come back, so I am trying my best. I had six weeks of good off-season training and practicing so hopefully it comes through in the games."

It is a case of easier said than done for someone of Yuvraj’s calibre. Playing in front of almost empty stands and adjusting to the grind of domestic cricket is hard. The standards of international cricket are pretty high, as is the crowd appreciation. So what is it that keeps Yuvraj going? The answer isn’t totally surprising.

"I was speaking to Sachin last year and he said that obviously the most important thing is to play for India but don't forget to enjoy the game," Yuvraj said. "As young kids we always played the game to enjoy it, we never knew that we were going to play for India. I enjoy playing cricket and it was always my passion as a young kid, so as long as I am enjoying it, I want to play."

Yuvi’s enjoyment has brought him success aplenty, at least in domestic cricket. He had a fruitful outing with Punjab last season, striking three centuries in the first three Ranji games and finishing with a 50-plus average. This year, he hopes to lead a motivated Punjab side in absence of regular skipper Harbhajan Singh. The road to success has already begun with an innings-win over Railways.