File photo of Yuvraj Singh (left) and Virat Kohli.© BCCI
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)
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