Ahead of the Indian side’s first Asia Cup against the UAE on September 10, Yuvraj Singh advised his trainees, Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma, to not repeat his mistake and find time to play golf during the tournament.
“I have told them to play golf, and I encourage them to play. It’s very hard to find time, but I think the IPL is a good time for them to actually find time and hit some balls,” Yuvraj said at the launch event of the Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL) in the national capital on Thursday.
The former Indian all-rounder explained that Golf can be an excellent tool for relaxation and also help cricketers increase their focus. He even went beyond to say that he would have scored at least 3000 runs more if he had started playing golf during his career.
“I agree with Kapil Paaji, he said 2,000, I would have scored 3,000 more runs if I had started playing the sport during my early career,” Yuvraj said. The former cricketer’s statement appeared to refer to Kapil Dev’s comment on Golf’s impact on the game. The former Indian captain had previously claimed that he would have scored a minimum of 2000 additional runs had he taken up Golf during his career.
Yuvraj’s exact advice to Gill and Sharma
Yuvraj encouraged both Gill and Sharma to find other sports to play in their off-time during the tournament rather than just sitting in their room, thinking about the match. The veteran cricketer explained that playing a sport like golf can be a very relaxing experience, which can help the batters return to the field with fresh eyes and increased focus.
“If you get out, you’re sitting in the room thinking about the next game. But if it were the second day, you would have just got out and played golf with your friends. You go to a game with a fresh mind. Sometimes it’s good to go and play another sport and come back fresh,” he said.
On being asked whether they should only play golf or explore other sports, Yuvraj replied that it’s up to the youngsters to decide how to better manage time and devise strategies that work well for them.
“Now they are superstars of the game, and they have to decide what’s going to help them be better. I feel that any sport that helps you relax is going to be less taxing on the body, more fruitful for the mind. If you see the culture of golf, speaking of Australia, South Africa, and England, the majority of the best cricketers have played golf from a very young age,” he added.
Golf Culture in International Cricket
Elaborating on the widespread presence of Golfing culture amongst cricketers, Yuvraj explained that many athletes representing South Africa, Australia and England regularly hit golf courses during tournaments as it helps them calm their nerves before a big game.
“You see a lot of these guys actually play a lot of golf and practice less cricket during tours. You can’t change your style of playing the sport in three days. But how can you recover and be mentally fresh for a game? That’s what really matters. So I just feel it’s not just cricket. For any sporting person who plays any sport in the world, they should play golf because it will eventually bring out the best in them in their sport,” Singh proclaimed.
“I tell all the young cricketers to try and play golf, hit the ball, and see how you feel. Because sometimes too much practice is also not good for you. Sometimes when you’re not scoring runs, you want to practice more, and with golf as well, you want to hit more balls. But sometimes it’s just good to relax,” he added.