Yuvraj Singh backs Team India: Fickle-minded critics forget their achievements

Dubai: Criticism is easy, but remembering greatness takes effort, Yuvraj Singh declared in Dubai, as he stood firmly in defence of Team India and their beleaguered stars. After a rare series loss in Australia, the former Indian all-rounder urged fans to see beyond a single setback and reflect on a decade of historic achievements.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and ace batter Virat Kohli have found themselves at the centre of criticism following a lacklustre series in Australia. While their performances fell short of expectations, Yuvraj, a player who knows the pressure of high-stakes cricket, believes fans have grown short-sighted, forgetting the duo’s remarkable contributions over the years.

“They’ve been performing for India for so many years, and sometimes they don’t get runs correct. There have been times when I haven’t gotten runs and a lot of great players haven’t gotten runs. That does not mean they are no great,” Yuvraj told Gulf News in Dubai on Monday.

“People have forgotten what Virat Kohli has done in the past — he has scored seven Test hundreds in Australia, and India won the two Test series in Australia. Virat got some good balls, and probably a couple of shots could have been avoided. But the point is that our memory is very fickle.

“We forget what India has achieved in the last 10 years in Australia. We forget what Rohit Sharma has done. When India won the T20 World Cup, he was the best captain. The man’s greatness is that he opted to sit out because he wanted to give somebody a chance. So we don’t talk about these positives; we always talk about the negatives.

“How many teams have beaten Australia on their own soil in the last few years? Very few. So I think we should give more credit to Team India because we won back-to-back series in Australia.”

Rohit Sharma dropped himself from the final Test against Australia in Sydney due to poor form, while Kohli finished the series with just 192 runs in nine innings, his highest score being 100 not out in Perth.

Yuvraj, who is the brand ambassador of the inaugural Tennis Ball Cricket Premier League — a grassroots initiative to promote the sport — believes India lost to a better Australian side. He identified India’s batting as the primary reason for the series defeat.

Shubman Gill, a technically perfect player for all conditions and formats, has been off-colour, while Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant have been inconsistent, showing only shades of brilliance during the five-Test series, which contributed to the team’s collective batting failure.

Despite the setback, India has the opportunity to redeem their pride in the upcoming One-Day International series against England, starting January 22. India will also play in the Champions Trophy in Dubai before the Test series in England in June.

The 43-year-old, who jokingly says his main job now is taking care of his two children — aside from coaching players like Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma and working with his cancer foundation YouWe Can — is confident the Indian team will bounce back.

“Gill must also be feeling that he hasn’t been performing to his best. Scoring runs away from India is really important, but unfortunately, he got injured. Then he played one game and didn’t play another. He was averaging 40-plus in Tests and was vice-captain. These are team decisions, so I can’t really comment on that.

“Gill is a fantastic player and will work hard to come back stronger,” Yuvraj said. “He needs to work hard on his game and find ways to get better in overseas conditions. I am confident that Team India will bounce back stronger.”