Overview

• Kirsten praised Gautam Gambhir for steering India to a 2-2 Test series draw in England and lauded the team’s emerging young talent.
• He recounted how Ishant Sharma faced 48 balls and scored 31 runs alongside VVS Laxman at Mohali to engineer a 79-run ninth-wicket stand.
• He revealed that selectors nearly omitted Yuvraj Singh from the 2011 World Cup squad before he and captain MS Dhoni successfully advocated for the all-rounder’s inclusion.
• Kirsten credited mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton for preparing Yuvraj Singh to deliver his Player of the Series performance in the 2011 tournament.
• Under Kirsten’s guidance from March 2008 to April 2011, India climbed to the world No. 1 Test ranking and ended a 28-year ODI World Cup drought.