When we remember the 2011 World Cup-winning team, names like MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh are the first ones to come to our minds. Dhoni’s brilliant captaincy led India to the World Cup final and his unbeaten 91-run innings helped India lift their first title since 1983. On the other hand, Yuvraj Singh played crucial knocks throughout the tournament and was handy with the ball. His all-round performance earned him the Man of the Tournament award in the 2011 edition. Recently, during an interview, Yuvraj Singh opened up about the tournament and also made some shocking claims about his relationship with MS Dhoni.
Yuvraj Singh opens on his Friendship with MS Dhoni
Yuvraj Singh was featured in a podcast with Ranveer Allahbadia which is uploaded on the latter’s YouTube channel. In the two and a half hour long episode, the former Indian all-rounder talked on various topics such as life journey, Cricket career, failures in life and also friendship with MS Dhoni.
The host asked Yuvi, “What is your equation with MS (Dhoni). Because media portrays a very bad picture.” To which Yuvraj responded, “Me and Mahi are not close friends. We were friends because of cricket, we played together. Mahi’s lifestyle was very different from me, so we were never close friends, we were only friends because of cricket. When me and Mahi went on the ground, we gave more than 100% to our country. In that, he was captain, I was vice-captain. When I came into the team, I was 4 years junior. When you are captain and vice-captain, there will be decision differences.”
Yuvraj Singh also revealed that before the 2019 World Cup MS Dhoni had told him that selectors are not considering him for the selection. Yuvraj said, “MS Dhoni was the guy who told me that the selection committee is not looking you right now. I was like, at least I got to know the real picture. This is just before 2019 World Cup. That is the reality,”
Yuvraj Singh’s career took a dip after the 2011 World Cup
Despite winning the 2011 World Cup, Yuvraj Singh’s career witnessed numerous ups and downs. He faced a year-long hiatus from cricket due to cancer treatment but made a return in a T20 series against New Zealand in September 2012. However, his performance in the 2012 T20 World Cup disappointed, as he only managed to score 66 runs in 5 games, leading to his exclusion from the 2013 Champions Trophy squad.
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Yuvraj Singh was given another opportunity in the 2014 T20 World Cup, but he failed to meet the expectations again, and his sluggish innings in the final, where he scored 11 off 21 balls, drew criticism from both media and fans. Despite attracting big bids in the Indian Premier League (IPL), he remained out of the ODI team and was also left out of the 2015 World Cup squad.
Following lackluster performances in the 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 Champions Trophy, Yuvraj Singh decided to retire from international cricket shortly after his snub from the 2019 World Cup squad.