An old interview of former India player Yuvraj Singh has gone viral, after ex-batter Robin Uthappa held Virat Kohli indirectly responsible for cutting short the all-rounder’s international career. In a recent interview, Uthappa claimed that Yuvraj’s request for certain fitness concessions during his return to the team after beating cancer was denied by the then India captain Kohli. One of India’s finest players in white-ball cricket, Yuvraj was one of the big reasons for the team’s twin World Cup success under MS Dhoni‘s leadership, but after the title triumph in the 2011 ODI showpiece, he was diagnosed with cancer and was promptly treated for the same in the US.

Yuvraj then made a remarkable recovery to fight his way back into the Indian team and also scored a hundred against England in an ODI, but after a quiet outing in the Champions Trophy in 2017, he was ignored and decided to retire from the game in 2019.

In the old interview, Yuvraj revealed how he was treated towards the end of his career.

“Never thought that I would be dropped after being the Man of the Match in 2 games out of the 8-9 I played after the Champions Trophy 2017. I got injured and I was told to prepare for the Sri Lanka series. Then suddenly, the Yo-Yo test came into the picture. It was a u-turn in my selection. Suddenly I had to go back and prepare for the Yo-Yo test at the age of 36. Even after I cleared the Yo-Yo test, I was told to play domestic cricket,” Yuvraj told in an interview to Aaj Tak in 2019.

“They actually thought that I wouldn’t be able to clear the test due to my age. And that it would be easy to decline me afterwards…yeah you can say it was an exercise in making excuses,” he added.

(With PTI Inputs)

Legendary India cricketer MS Dhoni is among the stars who are rarely active on social media. Dhoni called time on his international cricket career in 2020 but he remains active as a player in the Indian Premier League, playing for Chennai Super Kings. When asked about how he maintains such a low social media profile, Dhoni came up with quite an honest answer. He revealed that his managers keep pushing him to promote himself but he tells them that he doesn’t need a PR (Public Relations) if his game is good.

“I have never been a big fan of social media. Throughout, I have had different managers and all of them keep pushing. I started playing in 2004; Twitter got popular later on, after which Instagram came in. All the managers are like, ‘You should do some PR, build this and build that.’ I had the same answer that if I play good cricket, I don’t need PR,” Dhoni said on Eurogrip Tred Talks.

MS Dhoni is among the greatest captains India ever produced. The legend retired from international cricket as the only skipper to win all three major ICC white-ball titles – T20 World Cup (2007), ODI World Cup (2011), and Champions Trophy (2013).

Talking about his IPL career, he led Chennai Super Kings to a record-equalling five IPL titles. Dhoni stepped down from CSK captaincy after guiding the franchise to its most recent title in 2023. Ruturaj Gaikwad succeeded him, and in his debut stint, CSK failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, the 43-year-old was retained by CSK as an uncapped player. This was possible after the IPL introduced a new rule allowing franchises to retain players in the uncapped category if they have not played international cricket for five years.

Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh has been blasted by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) physiotherapist Tommy Simsek for his recent comment regarding MS Dhoni‘s anger. In the interaction, Harbhajan recalled the post-match scenes after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated CSK in a thrilling clash to reach the IPL 2024 playoffs. RCB hosted CSK in the last league stage game of the season for both teams, trailing the five-time champions by just two points in the points table. Due to their inferior net run rate, RCB needed to win by 18 runs or more to reach the playoffs. They did so by beating CSK and putting them out of contention too.

Harbhajan, who was on commentary duty in Bengaluru, claimed that Dhoni lost his cool that day and punched a screen while walking back to the dressing room.

“RCB was celebrating and they deserved to celebrate because of the way they won. I was watching the whole scene from above because I was present there. RCB was celebrating and CSK had lined up to shake hands, RCB were a little late to reach CSK. By the time Team RCB finished their celebration, (Dhoni) went inside and he punched a screen outside the dressing room. I was watching from above but it is okay that every player has his own emotions, it happens,” Harbhajan said in an interaction with Sports Yaari.

The former India spinner was criticized for his comments on Dhoni with CSK’s physiotherapist Tommy Simsek dismissing the claims. The coach termed it a “fake news” and “absolute rubbish”.

“This is absolute Rubbish! MSD did not break anything and I have never seen him aggressive after any match. Fake news!” Simsek said while commenting on an Instagram post that had shared Harbhajan’s comment on Dhoni.

India’s Paris Paralympic gold medallist Navdeep Singh is neither a fan of MS Dhoni nor Virat Kohli, he revealed in a recent interview. The javelin thrower is in fact a fan of Rohit Sharma. Explaining the reason behind his choice, Navdeep said that he likes the batting of Rohit. Notably, Navdeep first won a silver in the F41 javelin throw final at Paris Paralympics 2024 which was later upgraded to gold after initial winner Iran’s Sadegh Beit Sayah was disqualified for repeatedly displaying an objectionable flag following a dramatic final.

“You are a fan of which cricketer MS Dhoni or Virat Kohli?” asked host Shubhankar Mishra on his YouTube channel.

“Rohit Sharma” Navdeep replied promptly. “Because he plays well. I am his fan since he scored a double century,” he added.

Question – MS Dhoni or Virat Kohli? Who’s your favourite?

Navdeep Singh – Rohit Sharma. He plays so well. I have been a big fan since his double hundreds. #NavdeepSingh #RohitSharma pic.twitter.com/Pc5mIpcKy4

— Shubhankar Mishra (@shubhankrmishra) September 13, 2024

Navdeep Singh was captured on camera showing raw emotions during his throws in the final. His celebration after a throw also included some strong language. The netizens compared Navdeep aggression to that of Virat Kohli, who too wears his heart of his sleeve during matches.

“The world is comparing you with Virat Kohli. Some are saying that he is the younger brother of Virat Kohli. Some are saying you Virat Kohli 2.0,” said the host.

“No sir,” replied Navdeep with a smile. “Virat Kohli is a good player but what I like I like,” he added.

For India, the medal was a 7th gold at Paris 2024 and 16th in its Paralympic history, but for Navdeep, the top honour was way more than that.

Having suffered from dwarfism, Navdeep endured not just the usual rigours of training but cruel taunts from onlookers while growing up in his village in Haryana’s Panipat district. And his gold medal was a testimony to his resilience and determination. It would not only inspire him but a lot of other specially-abled people too, who went through a similar fate.

(With PTI Inputs)

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction is getting closer and the excitement regarding the retention policy — that is yet to be announced by the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) — is also increasing. How many retentions will the Board allow and what will be the maximum count of overseas stars that could be retained by each franchise? Such questions have taken the fore, however an official word from the BCCI regarding the new policy is still awaited. Notably, IPL 2025 auction is set to take place in December this year.

The BCCI was expected to announce the retention policy by the end of August but it is likely to be delayed further, stated Cricbuzz in a report. It added that the franchises could be given time until November 15 to finalize their picks.

Around a month ago, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) CEO Kasi Viswanath had denied the reports that the franchise asked the BCCI for a reintroduction of a now-scrapped rule to rope in MS Dhoni at a lower price during retention.

Earlier in IPL, an international player after five years of his retirement would be named in the ‘uncapped’ category. However, this rule was abolished after IPL 2021. Several reports stated that CSK want that rule to back as it would help them retain Dhoni as an ‘uncapped’ player, which means at a price as low as Rs 4 crore. The franchise had retained Dhoni for a price of 12 crore in 2022. However, CSK CEO Viswanath refuted the claims of the franchise made any such request.

The latest report on IPL retention policy stated that in fact it is the BCCI which is considering to put the retired players in the ‘uncapped’ category. The report added that bringing back such a policy will not only help Dhoni and CSK, but also the league.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) CEO Kasi Viswanath has denied the reports that the franchise asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for a reintroduction of a now-scrapped rule to rope in MS Dhoni for a lower price. Earlier in IPL, an international player after five years of his retirement would be named in the ‘uncapped’ category. However, this rule was abolished after IPL 2021. Several reports stated that CSK want that rule to back as it would help them retain Dhoni as an ‘uncapped’ player, which means at a price as low as Rs 4 crore. The franchise had retained Dhoni for a price of 12 crore in 2022. However, CSK CEO Viswanath has refuted the rumours that the franchise made any such request.

“I’ve no idea about it. We’ve not requested for it. They (the BCCI) have themselves told us that the ‘uncapped player rule’ may be kept, that’s all. They (the BCCI) haven’t announced anything as yet. The rules and regulations will be announced by the BCCI,” Kasi Viswanath told Times of India.

While the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction is just some months away, the uncertainty over Dhoni’s future in the tournament is still uncertain. Amid the speculations of his retirement, the player has remained tight-lipped about the chances of his participation in IPL 2025. Additionally, a mega auction before the upcoming edition means that things are going to be tough for the CSK franchise if they opt to include Dhoni as a player.

43-year-old Dhoni, who called time on his international career in August, 2020, is close to his retirement from cricket. Hence, it would not be a right decision if CSK decide to retain him as it will fill one of the few slots that the franchise will be getting ahead of the auction. Meanwhile, CSK would also not want to exclude the legendary player, who has won five titles for them.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru are set to face Chennai Super Kings in a do-or-die game at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on May 18. Both the teams are still in race for the playoffs and the match between them is going to decide the fate of both the teams. CSK have already reached the venue to prepare for the game. Ahead of the crucial encounter, a heartwarming video was shared on social media in which CSK’s MS Dhoni was seen inside the dressing room of RCB.

Watch it here:

RCB not only need to beat CSK to make it to the playoffs but that margin also needs to be either 20 runs or 11 balls to spare, assuming that the first innings score in the game is 200.

Meanwhile, for CSK, they can secure a spot despite a loss if RCB fail to maintain the margin of victory.

On Thursday, SunRisers Hyderabad became the third team following Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals to qualify for IPL 2024 playoffs. SRH made it to the final four after their match against Gujarat Titans at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium was washed out due to rain.

The toss for the game was delayed due to consistent rain and the contest was eventually abandoned without a ball being bowled.

SRH now have 15 points to their credit with a game in hand. The Pat Cummins-led side thus eliminated Delhi Capitals from the playoff race and also made the RCB vs CSK contest a do-or-die game.

It is worth noting that the Lucknow Super Giants are practically out because of their extremely poor net run rate but are mathematically alive in the playoff race. To turn the tables, LSG will be needing to win their final league match, which is against Mumbai Indians, by an extremely huge margin.