Highly recommended as one of India's greatest, Yuvraj Singh was diagnosed with cancer in his left lung after the 2011 World Cup. After undergoing chemotherapy, he made his comeback in 2012 but wasn't on top of his game which saw him left out of the squad for the Champions Trophy in 2013. After a while when Virat Kohli became captain, Singh made another comeback in the team but was dropped after a poor show in Champions Trophy followed by 2017 tour of the West Indies. Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa, a teammate of both has compared Virat's captaincy tenure with Rohit Sharma's period as captain.
Speaking to Lallantop, Uthappa opened up on Yuvraj's battle with cancer and his comeback comparing both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's captaincy. Rohit is currently under tremendous pressure following India's 3-1 defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
"Virat's style of captaincy was different to the extent that you needed to reach his level. Whether it was fitness, whether it was eating habits, whether it was listening, agreeing, all of that had to happen at that standard. There are two different types of leaders. There are leaders, who say this is the standard needed. There are leaders who say I will meet you where and I will elevate you to the standards I need you to be," he said.
“Both work and both get results but the impact of the personnel will be different. One will value a lot, and the exclusive one will feel let down a lot."
Uthappa indirectly blamed Kohli for forcing Yuvraj out of the Indian team.
"Take Yuvi Pa's instance. The man beat cancer, and he is trying to come back into the international side. He is the man who won us a World Cup, won us two World Cups for that matter, along with the other players, but played an integral role in helping us win. Then for such a player, when you become captain, you say his lung capacity has diminished and you have been with him when you have seen him struggle. Nobody has told me this, I observe things. You have seen him struggle, then when you are captain, yes you have to maintain a level of standard, but there are always exceptions to the rule. Here is a man who deserves to be an exception because he is not just beaten and won you tournaments, but he has beaten cancer. He has beaten the hardest challenge in life in that sense. Some question room for someone like that," he said.
Robin Uthappa criticized Virat Kohli for not allowing Yuvraj Singh sufficient time to make a successful comeback to the Indian squad and for being strict with fitness test requirements. The former KKR player disclosed that Yuvraj had requested a reduction of two points in the fitness test standards, but Kohli refused.
"So when Yuvi requested for that two-point deduction, he didn't get it. Then he did the test because he was outside the team and they weren't taking him in. He passed the fitness test, came inside the team, had a lean tournament, took him out totally. Never entertained him after that. Whoever was in the leadership group, didn't entertain him. That time Virat was the leader and it went according to him due to his strong personality, and that time it was according to him," he added.
Uthappa said Kohli's leadership style is 'exclusive' whereas Rohit's is 'inclusive' taking an indirect dig at the RCB star's captaincy approach.
"I haven't played under Virat as a captain very much. But Virat as a captain, he was very ‘my way or the highway’ kind of a captain. It's not like these guys aren’t also like that, but how to treat your team, how you treat your personnel, because it is not just about results."
When did Yuvraj retire?
Yuvraj who played a key role in India's 2007 and 2011 World Cup victories announced his international retirement on June 10, 2019. He played his last game in the IPL in 2019 as well for the Mumbai Indians.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
