Former India cricketer and hero of the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 World Cup wins Yuvraj Singh rued lack of support towards the latter part of his India career and compared that to MS Dhoni, who was backed by then captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri.
Yuvraj Singh made his India debut at the age of 18 in 2000 and played his last match in 2017. He played 304 ODIs, making 8701 runs with 14 centuries and in 58 T20Is, he made 1177 runs with a best of 77*. He also played 40 Tests, making 1900 runs with the best score of 169.
However, he was sidelined for a considerable amount of time in the fag end of his career despite playing in the 2014 and 2016 T20 World Cups, but issues with fitness and form held the mercurial all-rounder back.
Speaking on Home of Heroes on Sports 18, Yuvraj Singh compared his career in the later part to that of players like MS Dhoni and said that not everyone receives that kind of support from their captain and coach.
He said that thanks to the backing of his coach and captain, MS Dhoni went on to play 350 ODIs and even played the 2019 World Cup.
"Definitely when you have support from the coach and the captain it helps. 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,” Yuvraj said.
He then counted the names of Harbhajan Singh, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, and others who were discarded from the team despite being able to contribute to the team.
“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 added.
