It’s a young, integrated India that defends its title this year, and they’re all looking pretty positive about their chances. Yuvraj Singh for one sounds quite confident "I'll try and do my best for my country. I do feel the weight of fans' expectations, especially after that performance in Durban (against England)," Yuvraj told the TOI on Friday.

Yuvraj also is happy with how the youngsters have been performing: "One good change that has happened in the team in the last two years is the way younger members have performed and taken the pressure off seniors," he quoted. He believes that this has considerably taking performance pressures off the seniors. Seniors like Dhoni, Sehwag and himself can play without the fear of failure.

He saves special praise for Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma: “They were brilliant in IPL Season 2. They're exactly what the Indian team needs to evolve and grow stronger. Without such youthful players, a team faces the danger of stagnation and decline." He’s also pleased with how the bowling has shaped up; particularly Ashish Nehra: "It was so heartening to see Nehra bowl the way he did in the IPL. He reminded us of the days when he was an India regular. I'm looking forward to him doing his stuff for India once again."

Only a couple of weeks ago Gary Kirsten said that fatigue is going to be Team India’s biggest hurdle. Yuvraj does admit he’s tired, but he doesn’t think that will stop him. "Physically, I am fit but mentally I felt a little tired after the IPL. I reckon I'll be in a good shape for the World Cup" he says. "The good thing is we've had solid match practice in T20 format during the IPL. Almost all the players are in good form and that gives us teeth."

He believes that the team wants nothing more than to win the cup again, and that will get them far: "The attitude counts for a lot. We make a conscious effort in stoking that hunger for runs and wickets," he said.

Dhoni too believes that his team has a strong chance to win again: “Our team has players who are ideally suited to T20.”

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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