When the Indian cricket team was engaged in the 2019 ODI World Cup in England, former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh shocked one and all with his announcement of retirement from the game.
During the media conference, Yuvraj vowed to make some startling revelations which led to his decision, but could not then, as it would have diverted the attention from the Indian team fighting it out in England.
Amid lockdown and a boom in online interaction amongst players, Yuvraj fulfilled his promises by slamming the Indian team’s coaching staff and selection committee.
Yuvraj chastized Head Coach Ravi Shastri for not doing his job correctly and questioned the appointment of batting coach Vikram Rathour.
“He (Rathour) is my friend … do you think he can help players of this T20 generation? Has he played cricket at the level to help them?” Yuvraj was quoted as saying by PTI.
“If I was the coach, I’ll tell goodnight to (Jasprit) Bumrah at 9 pm and take Hardik (Pandya) out for a drink at 10 pm. That’s how you deal with different personalities,” Yuvi added.
Then, the two-time World Cup winner criticized Shastri for not helping the youngsters enough in the team. Additionally, Yuvi expects horses for courses kind of approach from the head coach of the group.
“The current guys have no one to talk to and take advice. I don’t know if Ravi is doing it, but maybe he has others things in his hand,” Yuvi commented on Shastri.
“Anyway, you can’t tell everyone just ‘go out and play your game, express yourself’, this approach may work with someone like Sehwag … but this will never work with Pujara. So these things the coaching staff need to realize.”
Furthermore, the recently retired cricketing icon lambasted the selectors for choosing the team for the 2019 global showpiece event.
“The selection during the 2019 World Cup was shocking. You need people to question those decisions when players who have played 5 ODIs are playing in the middle order.”
While the Indian middle-order struggled due to its brittleness, the Indian think-tank was busy playing a game of musical chairs at the crucial number four slot.
Finally, it came down to the inexperience of Rishabh Pant, who had not batted in the position before the world cup.
“Can the current selectors question these decisions when they have played only 5 ODIs?” concluded Yuvraj.
