Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni have been the architects of some of India cricket’s finest victories since the turn of the century.
The highlight of both players’ careers was the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 World Cup triumphs. While Dhoni was the captain of the team in both tournaments, Yuvraj was India’s best performer in the two events.
Both Yuvraj and Dhoni are known for their ability to score big runs in important games. However, former Sri Lanka cricketer Russel Arnold feels Dhoni was far more adept at playing defensively and flamboyantly when needed.
"He could play both roles, there are very few who could do that. Both roles meaning, when he needed to absorb pressure, he could do it. That was my strength but I could hit a boundary now or then but not 15 runs an over consistently. You give me eight to 10 (runs to score in an over), I'll back myself. But Dhoni would back himself with 15 or 20 an over and hit those big sixes consistently," Arnold said in a conversation with former India batter WV Raman.
Commenting on Yuvraj, Arnold said the swashbuckling left-hander was slightly less tailor-made for pressure situations as compared to Dhoni.
"To be able to play both roles expertly as he [Dhoni] did, he is in a very different league. Not many players who can play both those roles. You get players with flamboyance and come close to him in hitting those boundaries. Like Yuvraj Singh. But Yuvraj could not absorb the pressure when needed and play with his partner the way Dhoni did. Yuvraj had to be the boss to be extravagant and express himself. That is when he was at his best. But Dhoni was at his best at both ends of the line. He could be defensive and absorb pressure and throw those punches as well," said Arnold.
While Yuvraj called time on his international career in 2019, Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket a year later.
Yuvraj represented India in 40 Tests, 304 ODIs and 58 T20Is, scoring over 11,000 runs across formats with 17 centuries. On the other hand, Dhoni played 90 Tests, 350 ODIs and 98 T20Is for India, amassing more than 15000 runs with 16 hundreds.
