After Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma, Ramandeep hails Yuvraj Singh's work behind the scene: 'He stood in the sun...'

KKR youngster hails Yuvraj Singh's work behind the scenes

Even though Yuvraj Singh hasn't played cricket in six years, the renowned all-rounder still contributes to Indian cricket. Yuvraj has been crucial to the growth of Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma. Indian cricket is still fortunate because of Yuvraj's invaluable contribution, even though he now spends the majority of his time on a golf course.

All of these young people will agree on one thing: Yuvraj treats them like brothers. He is friendly, well-liked, receptive, and grateful. When Abhishek scored his first international hundred against Zimbabwe, Yuvraj had video-called him.

The two most successful tales resulting from Yuvraj's efforts are undoubtedly Gill and Abhishek, but there are other people who are also quickly moving up the ranks. Take Ramandeep Singh, for instance. The KKR all-rounder, who is regarded as one of the most promising players in the Punjab and IPL circuits, talked about his relationship with Yuvraj and how the two-time World Cup winner went above and beyond to support him.

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Talking on a podcast with Ram Shamani, Ramandeep said, "I keep on having conversations with Yuvi paaji. He's from Punjab, and I am lucky that he has seen me batting. When the Covid restrictions were initially lifted, we used to practice at the PCA Stadium. Yuvi paaji used to come there too. One of the days, he missed his practice session for me and arranged the center wicket. He stood in the sun the entire afternoon at the umpire's position and record my batting videos. He took my number and shared those videos with me and was giving me advice – what needs to improve, what I was doing well and what I wasn't."

"That guy has a huge heart. He is a bigger character than he was as a cricketer. He goes out of the way; that's his nature. He has helped Shubman, Abhishek, Anmolpreet Singh, Prabhsimran… When it comes to batting, they all take their problems to Yuvraj Singh. It's never happened that he hasn't answered their phone. Everyone. And a person like him who is busy the whole year, he still managed to take time out."

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In the IPL 2025 opener on Saturday, KKR fell to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, while Ramandeep, who is currently with the Knight Riders, stayed undefeated at six.

But that's not the only thing that appears. Ramandeep has twice nearly reached his idol's feat of smashing six sixes in an over, following in Yuvraj's footsteps. Despite hitting five sixes in a single over twice during the Sher-e-Punjab competition, Ramandeep has failed to deliver the game-ending blow. Has he discussed what's missing with Yuvraj?

"I really want to smash six sixes in an over. Not because I have to break Yuvraj’s record or anything like that. What he's done is remarkable. I don't know what happens on the sixth ball. I am missing something. He [Yuvraj] knows that it's written. It will happen if and when it has to," he said.

“More importantly, it's about how I feel. You may score runs, but you don't get that feeling. On the other hand, you may score 35 runs, but if everything is timed well and hits the middle of the bat, there's no better feeling," Ramandeep added.