Yuvraj Singh, who made it back to the Indian T20 squad on Saturday, was in high spirits at the crack of dawn on Sunday as he and actress Neha Dhupia conducted a warm-up session for the Tata Steel Kolkata 25K participants.

Yuvi, the brand ambassador of event partner Puma, had the runners in splits as he got on stage, did a jig, rubbed his hand and quipped: "We need to warm up... It's very cold."

He then declared Neha was a pro in long-distance running warm-up, while he was a short-distance specialist.

Only half of the 500-odd Calcuttans who had gathered on the Maidan around 6am concentrated on the exercises, while the other half assembled near the stage to take pictures of the two celebrities.

At the end of the session, the duo obliged fans by posing for a succession of selfies with the crowd in the background.

Yuvraj later posted on his Instagram account (groovi12): "Was nice to see people of Kolkata up and running and my busy friend thanks for your time @nehadhupia #IGNITEKolkata @PUMARunning #ForeverFaster".

The comeback man spoke to Metro on running and how it helped him regain fitness after cancer treatment.

Does running feature in your workout?

Yeah man. I don't have a choice (laughs).

Do you run every day? What else features in your workout?

I don't run every day. I do more training in the off season. I run like twice-thrice a week. I have to do a lot of other kind of exercises like gym and personal training... a lot of strength training, functional training, agility work, which is running in short bursts.

How did running help you regain your fitness after your recovery from cancer?

It was the most important factor in my recovery. I had lost a lot of lung capacity and running helped me regain it slowly.

Have you run road races?

Not really. I was into long distances when I was growing up, when I was in school and college. I used to cover 10-15km. And now after going through my treatment (for cancer), I focus on short-distance running.

How important is running for a cricketer?

I think not only cricketers, running is important for everyone. I think running is the best thing you can do in life for fitness. That is one aspect that is going to keep you healthy. Those considering whether they should start running should stop thinking about it, just put on your running shoes, run and be healthy.

Who would you call the fittest of your Indian teammates over the years?

The fittest ever, that would be umm... (long pause).... I think Mohammed Kaif was very fit. He was extremely serious about his running and also very good at it.

Are the current cricketers fitter than the ones that you had started out with in 2000?

Definitely. Much more cricket is played nowadays as well. So the guys need to be up for it and they are giving extra time to their fitness. That's why the fitness regime has changed for the players.

There is now more knowledge available (about fitness) and things are done more scientifically and they try to understand their own body. So, there's a lot of importance given to fitness.