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'With or without me, India should select best eleven'

He firmly believes that a team can't be selected on the basis of past laurels, but Yuvraj Singh, in his inimitable manner, reminded everyone that the contribution of senior Indian players can't be forgotten easily.

"With or without me, India should select the best eleven. I believe that a team should be a blend of youth and experience. I am not saying that past success should be taken into account while selecting a present team, but one shouldn't forget what we have achieved for the country," Yuvraj said, when asked whether he still considers himself in the scheme of things ahead of the upcoming season.

The 31-year-old was full of praise for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's young brigade, which has performed admirably in the past few months.

"I am very happy for the youngsters who have been performing well for the country. This augurs well for Indian cricket. I have always believed that a good team should have a proper balance. As far as I am concerned, I will do anything to get back into the Indian team," the left-hander said, addressing the media at a promotional event for Investor's Clinic.

'I want to make a comeback as soon as possible'

Quizzed whether he realistically finds himself in the mix for the 2015 World Cup, he gave a pragmatic reply.

"I don't know what will happen tomorrow and you are asking me about something that's still one-and-half years away."

Indeed, he hasn't set himself a fixed target for a comeback, but would ideally like to quickly.

"I want to make a comeback as soon as possible, and I am pretty focussed about my game."

Asked why he opted out of a pre-season tournament like the Buchi Babu, he offered a vague reply. "I could only play Buchi Babu or Moin-ud Dowla if my state association is playing in the tournament."

As a rule, if a senior India player approaches a state association urging it to take a player as a guest, anyone can play in the pre-season tourneys.

'A conscious decision to get away from the distractions'

Yuvraj seemed pretty satisfied about his pre-season high-altitude training in France along with another India discard, Zaheer Khan.

"It was a conscious decision to get away from the distractions that we have over here. To concentrate on a specific fitness regimen, proper diet. Basically, work with a purpose," he explained.

Then he made a typical tongue-in-cheek comment, "Another reason was staying away from you guys was of great help. Actually not always!"

He also revealed that Zaheer had shed around six kilos and looks a lot fitter.

"Zak has been very disciplined about his diet and has shed six kg. He is looking in great shape. Actually, we have a great friendship and that helps us gel well during training."