Yuvraj Singh had scored 11 runs off 21 balls in the 2014 T20 World Cup final against Sri Lanka.
Yuvraj is highly credited for the 2007 T20 World Cup win and the 2011 ODI World Cup triumph but he often receives criticism for his knock against Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup 2014 final.
The southpaw had scored just 11 runs off 21 balls in the summit clash as India ended up with a below-par total of 130/4, which Sri Lanka chased down with 6 wickets in hand and 13 balls to spare.
More than eight years later, Yuvraj has claimed that he didn’t have the proper backing of the team management during that marquee event and, thus, his confidence wasn’t up to the mark.
“During the T20 World Cup in 2014 I was very low on confidence. There was an atmosphere that I could get dropped. It’s not an excuse but I wasn’t getting enough support from the team. From the time of Gary, I was in Duncan’s era and things had completely changed in the team," Yuvraj said in an exclusive interaction on Home of Heroes, Sports18’s newest offering.
He added, “When the final came, I just couldn’t hit the ball. I tried to hit the off-spinner and I couldn’t hit it and it went for dots. I tried to get out, I didn’t get out….Everybody thought my career was over after that. I also thought my career was over. But that’s life. You have to accept that. If you accept glories, you must accept your defeats as well and you must move forward."
Yuvraj cited the example of his former captain MS Dhoni, and said that not every player is lucky to receive continuous support from the team management.
“Definitely when you have support from the coach and the captain it helps," Yuvraj said.
“Look at Mahi (MS Dhoni) towards the end of his career. He had so much support from Virat and Ravi Shastri. They took him to the World Cup, he played till the end, and went on to play 350 games. I think support is very important but in Indian cricket everybody will not get support," he added.
Yuvraj further said stalwarts of Indian cricket like Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman and Gautam Gambhir didn’t get the support when they were going through a lean patch.
“There have been great players like Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir who didn’t get that (support). When you are batting out there and you know that the axe is hanging on your head how will you concentrate and bat and give your best. It is not an excuse but with different coaches and after 2011 times are very different," he said.