New Delhi: Former India all-rounder and Man of the Series in the 2011 World Cup Yuvraj Singh has said that out of the three captains he played under, he got the maximum support from Sourav Ganguly. In an illustrious career Yuvraj Singh played 304 ODIs, out of which 104 were under Ganguly’s captaincy and 110 under Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He also played in a number of games when the captain of the team was Virat Kohli.
Yuvraj Singh made his debut under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy against Australia in the Champions Trophy in 2000. Till the time he retired, the other captains he played under were Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Dhoni and Kohli.
“I have played under Sourav Ganguly and received a lot of support from him. Then Mahi (Mahendra Singh Dhoni) took over. It’s a difficult choice to make between Sourav and Mahi. I have more memories of time under Sourav because of the support he gave me. I didn’t have that kind of support from Mahi and Virat (Kohli),” Yuvraj was quoted as saying by a sports magazine.
Yuvraj Singh also said that the current Indian team need a ‘good guy’ who can help players with their off field issues. He said that if such a thing happens, then the on field performance of the players will certainly improve. Yuvraj also pointed out that the Virat Kohli-led Indian side should have someone like mental health and conditioning coach Paddy Upton who was with the Indian team during Gary Kirsten’s tenure as coach.
“If Upton was there, I am certain that the performances of the players will certainly improve. Upton makes you forget the fear of failure and that is very important in a sportspersons life,” Yuvraj Singh opined.
Yuvraj also expressed sadness about the deaths due to coronavirus, but said people should not panic and visit official sites including that of the WHO and the Union Health Information. “There is rampant fake news about the virus on the social media, so everyone should visit the authentic sites and act accordingly to prevent the spread of the coronavirus,” Yuvraj stated.
Agencies