If you sit down to describe Yuvraj Singh with a set of adjectives then there is a high chance words like carefree, flamboyant, stylish, and match-winner will feature in it. Outspoken may not rank high in that list but considering the nature of Yuvraj Singh it should definitely find a place in somewhere. Nine months after announcing his retirement from all forms of cricket, former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has decided to tap that outspoken side of his.
India's prolific match-winner in their recent two World Cups - 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup - Yuvraj revealed he got more support under Sourav Ganguly's captaincy than under MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli.
Yuvraj, who made his debut under Ganguly's captaincy against Australia in the Champions Trophy in 2000, has played under Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli in different times.
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The swashbuckling left-hander, however, rates Ganguly - his first captain - higher.
"I have played under Sourav (Ganguly) and had a lot of support from him. Then Mahi (MS 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 told Sportstar.
Yuvraj represented India in 304 ODIs, 110 of those were under Ganguly's captaincy - the most. Dhoni is a close second, under whom Yuvraj has played 104 ODIs.
Interestingly, Yuvraj has the best record playing under Dhoni. He has scored 3077 in 104 ODIs playing under Dhoni at an average close to 37 while under Ganguly he has scored 2640 runs at an average of 30 in 110 ODIs. A lot of it, however, has to with Yuvraj getting more experienced and accomplished as an international batsman when Dhoni was the leader.
Reflecting on the starting days of his career, Yuvraj said it was an amazing feeling to be suddenly sitting beside his heroes in the Indian dressing room.
"I came (in 2000) when there was no IPL. I used to watch my heroes on screen and suddenly I was sitting next to them. I had such respect for them and learnt from them how to behave, how to talk to the media. There was a lot of learning. Today, there are hardly any seniors to guide the players who are mostly the same age," Yuvraj Singh.
Speaking about the current lockdown scenario, Yuvraj said, it is heartbreaking to see so many people die because of coronavirus.
"I think this has its advantages and disadvantages. It's heartbreaking 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. 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."
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