Former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has praised former skipper and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly for his support, which the stylish lef-hander says much more than what he got from MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli.
Yuvraj made his international debut under Ganguly’s captaincy against Australia in the Champions Trophy in 2000 and also played under the leadership of Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Dhoni and Kohli at different times in his career.
“I have played under Sourav and had a lot of support from him. Then Mahi 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,” Yuvraj said in an interview to ‘Sportstar’.
The former India all-rounder played 304 ODIs, 110 of those under Ganguly’s captaincy and 104 under Dhoni’s leadership.
Yuvraj, who was once considered the best friend of Dhoni, played a total of 304 ODIs, 110 under Ganguly’s leadership and 104 under the Jharkhand lad’s captaincy.
The elegant middle-order batsman believes the current India roaster need a ‘good guy’ who can speak with the players about their off-field issues which would help them better their on-field performance.
This Indian team need a good guy who can talk to them on matters off the field. Their off-the-field issues reflect on their on-field performances. What they need is a psychologist of authority who can guide them in personal issues. Make them better persons
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj, who announced his retirement last year, said the Kohli-led team need someone like Paddy Upton who can talk to players about life and other off-field issues. Upton served as the mental health and conditioning coach of the Indian team during Gary Kirsten’s tenure as coach.
“This Indian team need a good guy who can talk to them on matters off the field. Their off-the-field issues reflect on their on-field performances. What they need is a psychologist of authority who can guide them in personal issues,” said the Punjab lad.
“Make them better persons. We had Paddy Upton who would discuss other issues of life, like fear of failure, and it helped us so much. The team probably needs someone like him,” added Yuvi, who has a record of scoring six sixes in an over in a T20I game.
Speaking about the current lockdown, the 38-year-old said he is heartbroken after seeing so many people die because of coronavirus.
“I think this has its advantages and disadvantages. It’s heart-breaking to see so many people dying all over the world. It is spreading so fast. People, rather than panicking, should visit the official health sites (WHO and Union Health Ministry) to really understand what the disease is,” said Yuvraj.
“In my case of cancer, I was also very scared in the beginning but then I got the right information, went to the right doctor and hospital. Please understand that these government and official health sites will guide you accurately because there is rampant misinformation about the virus on social media. First of all, people need to stop reading (social media) and look for correct information,” he further said while urging people to stay away from spreading rumours.
