Need to grab hold of opportunity given to me: Yuvraj

Kolkata, Dec 20. India's batting all-rounder Yuvraj Singh on Sunday said he needs to grab hold of the opportunity that will come his way playing against Australia in the T20 internationals next month.

The 34-year-old who was in town for the Tata Steel Kolkata 25K run has been selected for the T20 matches but will not feature in the One Day Internationals (ODI) that Australia will play during their January 12-31 India tour.

The left-handed batsman was offered a place in the squad owing to his blistering form in the ongoing Vijay Hazare trophy where he is the third-highest scorer with 341 runs at an average of 85.25. "It feels great to get an opportunity. Playing in Australia will not be easy but I need to make the best of this (chance)," Yuvraj told a news channel.

Yuvraj also said that he was keen on doing well here so that he can make it to the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup. "Sad to have missed out from the ODI's but I have to do well here. Hopefully I will be picked in the T20 World Cup squad," he said.

Yuvraj said there's always pressure when somebody is making a comeback. "Pressure is always there. More so when you are making a comeback, people expect you to replicate your old performances," he said.

The last time Yuvraj played for the national side was in the loss to Sri Lanka in the World Twenty20 final in 2014 where he had a horrendous time with 11 runs from 21 balls. Speaking about the time spent on the sideline, the southpaw added: "It was a terrible phase. But now it's past and I am a lot stronger now."