Yuvraj exudes confidence for World Cup

Hyderabad, Feb 24 (UNI) With injury woes finally behind him, dashing southpaw Yuvraj Singh today oozed confidence of dazzling in the ICC World Cup in the West Indies beginning next month.

Talking to mediapersons after launching a cricket video game named after him, Yuvraj said ''It would be competitive and entertaining cricket during the World Cup and I am looking forward to play better and help Team India's cause.'' Having played seven one day matches in West Indies earlier, with 93 at Kingston being his highest score in the Caribbean, the stylish batsman said he was hopeful of a good show in the showpiece event.

''I am optimist of making good scores at Port of Spain, where I scored one of my two half centuries. And it is the main venue for the Group B matches in the forthcoming World Cup,'' he said.

One of the most athletic member of the side, Yuvraj asserted run saved would be as important as run scored.

''It is very important to improve fielding and every run you stop is very crucial,'' he said.

Asked which team looks favourite to lift the coveted trophy, Yuvraj was not game for a guess and said, ''You can not say who will win the cup.

''In the last World Cup we got good momentum and even reached the finals. For this World Cup also, we need to get that momentum right from the start to reach the semifinals, which is our first goal,'' he said of his team's chances.

About his own performance, the Punjab bat said, ''I always try to put at least 30 runs on the board first and once I reach that target then I try to raise the bar higher.'' He, meanwhile, declined to comment on VVS Laxman's exclusion from the World Cup squad.

'''It is the selectors' decision. I will not coment on this,' he added.

UNI