Yuvraj blast didn't affect me: Stuart Broad

Success, they say, has many fathers while failure is an orphan. Stuart Broad's story could have been somewhat similar. The whole world went gaga over Yuvraj Singh after the southpaw smacked the young English bowler for six sixes in an over in Durban during the World T20 last year in South Africa. Any other rookie at the international level could have just lost the plot and never recovered.

To his credit, Broad buried that Durban evening somewhere in his mind and has only looked ahead. Chris Broad's son now says he has learnt from his mistakes. "It didn't really affect me a great deal. It's become a batsman's game and the boundaries are shorter. Everyone wants to see fours and sixes and I can't change the past. I chose to learn from it," Broad said.

He is extremely satisfied with the fact that he's already played 37 ODIs and his hunger is ever-increasing. "I know I can only improve. I have developed myself as a bowler and I am concerned about my batting too."

Countymate and former England ‘keeper Paul Nixon has been a big encouragement for Broad. "Paul told me not to throw it away. He always emphasized on playing on till the last moment. I have always made it a point to play it hard and not give up," said Broad, who combined with Ravi Bopara with the bat to hand England a hard-fought three-wicket win against India last year.

So, how does Broad reckon he'll perform on the flat Indian wickets? "That is a concern but Freddie (Andrew Flintoff), Harmison (Steve) and Anderson (James) have played in India before and I have learnt from them that the key to success in India is patience. We have to bowl as a unit," Broad said.

Flintoff keeps telling him to hit the top of offstump every ball and Broad tries just that.

When asked what's the biggest challenge for him would be, Broad shot back saying "the heat."

"I bowled for just 40 minutes in the nets today and I was sweating like crazy." His father comes across as a strict disciplinarian in his capacity as ICC match referee but Stuart feels his father "never came down heavily on him." "He is just a phone call away. He's been a supportive father."

So was he strict when he was a kid? "No, never. I was not a mischievous child at all," the youngster joked.