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'I had asked myself, 'Do I want to play anymore'?
India middle-order batman Yuvraj Singh revealed that he almost thought of quitting international cricket when he was dropped from both the Test and ODI teams last year.
He said it was the toughest phase in his 10-year career, but his parents helped him overcome that lean period.
"It was tough time for me. I think that was the toughest period for me in the last 10 years. There was a time when I asked myself, 'do I want to continue'? Seriously, I thought, 'do I want to play anymore or not'? There was lot of negativity around me," he said.
"Everytime I hit the field, I was getting injured. That time was really bad for me. I just came out of it with the help of a few good friends, my strong parents and some amount of self motivation and hard training," said Yuvraj.
The 29-year-old left-hander was dropped from the squad that was picked for the Test series against Australia in October at home and from the ODI squad for the Asian Cup in Sri Lanka in June last year.
'My form is great at the moment'
Yuvraj said he is confident of hitting top form in the upcoming World Cup.
"My form is all great at the moment as compared to the last couple of years. Last year it was tough because of injury. I am ready for the World Cup," he said.
The Chandigarh-born player's role has increased to a part-time bowler in the side and Yuvraj said it was because of the absence of a left-arm spinner.
"I have been bowling quite frequently and I try to bowl full 10 overs because you don't have a main left-arm spinner in the side. I know that my role has increased as a bowler," he said.
With youngsters like Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina around, does it make Yuvraj feel insecure or push him to do better?
'I would like to win the World Cup for Sachin'
"I am not insecure. I have played for 10 years. When I was a young kid I always thought of playing ODIs and now I have played more than 250 ODIs. So no insecurity," Yuvraj told NDTV.
He said like all other Indian teammates, he would like to win the World Cup for veteran batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who will be making his sixth and likely his last appearance in the quadrennial event.
"I would give anything for the World Cup and would like to win it for him (Sachin). For India it will be dream come true," he said.