No TV, no newspapers: Yuvraj Singh recalls Sachin Tendulkar's advise that changed team India's fortunes in 2011 World Cup

The ICC Women's World Cup 2025 is less than two months away. India will host the prestigious tournament, which will begin from September 30. Harmnpreet Kaur's team will chase their maiden ICC trophy.

This year's tournament was officially launched on Monday by ICC chairman Jay Shah, along with cricket legends Yuvraj Singh and Mithali Raj in Mumbai.

During the event, Yuvraj Singh spoke to the women's team and motivated them by narrating an anecdote from the 2011 Men's World Cup.


India had lost a match against South Africa and tied a game against England in the 2011 World Cup and the team was slammed by fans. However, the players were instructed by the great Sachin Tendulkar and Gary Kirsten to focus on their game and not on the news.

"I will give you an example of what we felt at that time. Until then, no country had won the World Cup at home, and it had been 28 years since we won a World Cup. I remember we tied the game against England and we lost to South Africa, from a winning position. We got a lot of backlash," Yuvraj said during the event.

"I remember Sachin Tendulkar and coach Gary Kirsten coming and having a chat with us - 'From here on what are the things we need to do to win the tournament - no one is going to watch TV; no one is going to read the newspaper; when you walk towards the ground put your headphones on, to focus on the field. While going back to your room, put your headphones back on. Cut the noise and try to do what you need to do to win the tournament," he added.

The advice from the greats worked in India's favour as they went on to reach the final and defeat Sri Lanka to lift the title after 28 years.