India’s former World Cup-winning all-rounder Yuvraj Singh believes that the defeat at home against New Zealand was even more disappointing than the defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Even though Team India lost the Test series 3-1 in Australia, Yuvraj is not among those who are criticizing the failures of captain Rohit Sharma and veteran batsman Virat Kohli. In the last eight Test matches, India has suffered six defeats, while winning only one match, due to which the team could not make it to the final of the World Test Championship.
“For me, it hurts more to lose against New Zealand at home because they lost 3-0 on their own ground,” Yuvraj told PTI in an interview. This is not acceptable. However, (losing BGT) is still a fair loss, because you have won twice in Australia. I believe Australia has been a strong team for the last several years.”
Yuvraj also said that it is unfair to criticize Rohit and Virat considering their past achievements. He said, “We are talking about great players, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. People forget his achievements. He has not performed well in recent times, but he himself is more unhappy with it.”
Yuvraj also commented on the coaching role of his teammate Gautam Gambhir. He said, “Looking at Gautam Gambhir as a coach and Ajit Agarkar as a selector, I think all of them are the best experts in cricket. They have to decide what the path of Indian cricket will be in the future.”
Praising Rohit Sharma’s decision to opt out of the Sydney Test, Yuvraj said, “It is a big thing. I have never seen a captain take himself out when his form is not good. It shows the greatness of Rohit Sharma that he gave priority to the team. He is a great captain who has brought many achievements to the team.”
Concluding his talk, Yuvraj said, “When players do not perform well, it is easy to criticize them, but difficult to support them. My job is to support my friends and brothers. For me, these players are my family.
