India’s great MS Dhoni’s former teammate Yuvraj Singh has thanked the World Cup-winning captain for backing him during his playing days and said not many get wicketkeeper-batsman’s support.
Dhoni, who took back the Chennai Super Kings captaincy recently, led India to ODI World Cup victory in 2011 and Yuvraj played a crucial role in the team’s historic win.
“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 (Kohli) 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 while speaking on the Home of Heroes show on Sports 18.
While giving the examples of Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman, Yuvraj said that when a player’s place is in danger all the time, it is difficult to perform at the top level.
“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.
