Former Indian cricketer, Yuvraj Singh has revealed how he was backed up to the hilt during his comeback by captains MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. The left-handed batsman retired last year quoting he was not in a virtuous mental space due to lack of chances saying he is content with the decision and doesn’t regret it at all.
The legendary all-rounder played starring role in India’s two world cup victories – 2007 World T20 and ODI World Cup in 2011 where he was announced player-of-the-tournament as well.
Nevertheless, after his ODI World Cup high, Yuvraj was diagnosed with a rare germ cell cancer in his lungs for which he underwent treatment in Boston and confesses he wasn’t the same player even though he quickly made his international return after making a full recovery.
“When you are at that position (captain), you have to take care of several things. When I made my comeback, Virat Kohli supported me. Had he not, I wouldn’t have been able to play again,” Yuvraj told News18.
The left-handed batsman said Dhoni gave him the clear picture about his upcoming career with the Indian cricket team. “As far as MS Dhoni goes, I spoke to him and he showed me the real picture regarding the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 that I am not in the plans of selectors. When someone is honest with you, it gives you confidence in the sense that at least he’s true to my face. They (Kohli and Dhoni) did as much as was possible,” he said.
Yuvraj even said that backing someone is a discrete choice and a captain cannot delight everyone.
“As a captain, sometimes, it is hard to please everyone. Every captain be it Ricky Ponting, Sourav Ganguly, Virat or Dhoni – all have had to face criticism. Your focus is to see how the team will perform. So, backing someone or not is an individual choice. They must have supported as much as possible. Then whether to go with the youngsters to senior players is an individual choice,” the 38-year-old said.
Yuvraj also said that the team will never progress, if a captain begins to emphasis on building individual relationships.
“Till 2011, MS (Dhoni) had confidence in me and he used to tell me that I am his main player. But once you return after battling such a big illness, the game obviously wasn’t the same as before. And by then a lot of changes were happening in the team. So, you cannot pinpoint such things. You have to take the team forward, it’s a very personal call. If you start building relationships, the team will never progress. A captain’s focus should be just the team,” he said.
