New Delhi: Indian cricket team's former star all-rounder Yuvraj Singh played a crucial role in national team's win in two World Cups -- ICC Men's 2007 T20 International World Cup and 2011 One Day International World Cup. The flamboyant star bid adieu to international cricket in the year 2019.
Yuvraj's career saw a big downfall after he was forced to battle cancer. He tried his best to make the same impact when he made his comeback but faced a hard time. Yuvraj had to face severe backlash from fans and cricket pundits for his 21-ball 11 against Sri Lanka in the 2014 T20 World Cup final, in which India ended up as the losing side.
Talking about his struggles and form, Yuvraj asserted that many ex-players didn't get the same backing during the end of their respective cricket careers, unlike MS Dhoni.
"During the T20 World Cup in 2014, I was very low on confidence. There was an atmosphere that I could get dropped. It’s not an excuse but I wasn’t getting enough support from the team. From the time of Gary, I was in Duncan’s era and things had completely changed in the team," Yuvraj said while speaking on Home of Heroes on Sports18.
"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 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," he opined.
"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," Yuvraj added.