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Yuvraj Singh defended his former teammates Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir after India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade.
Gautam Gambhir (L) and Rohit Sharma.
Yuvraj Singh, one of the finest left-handers to have played the game, lauded Indian men’s cricket team captain Rohit Sharma for resting himself from the fifth and last Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney due to a lean run. Head caoch Gautam Gambhir’s role has also come under the scanner following the Australia debacle but Yuvraj defended both his former teammates.
India surrendered the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade following the 1-3 loss to Australia. The team was also knocked out of the World Test Championship final in June this year due to the defeat in the five-match series.
“I have said it previously also. You guys look at series by series. If India wins a series you talk good things, if they lose you criticise,” Yuvraj told PTI query at the launch event of the Celebrity Cricket League on Thursday.
“I always look at the team graph over a five-year period or three years. If you talk about Rohit, Gautam has just come into the system, he needs more time. Rohit Sharma has won the T20 World Cup as captain, he was captain when India played the ODI World Cup final. He led MI (Mumbai Indians) to five IPL titles.
“The guy has stepped down from the last match and given somebody else a chance. How many captains have done that in the past? Please tell me,” he asked.
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He reiterated that losing 0-3 to New Zealand at home was more “questionable”.
“…that is a tougher pill to swallow,” said Yuvraj.
India lost the series Down Under but standout performances came from opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and rookie Nitish Reddy, who made a memorable hundred in the Melbourne Test.
“Nitish scored a hundred on his first tour, it is amazing. Not sure how many have done that. Jaiswal scored 150 plus in his first Test in Australia, it is highly commendable. We should talk about these performances more,” Yuvraj said in their praise.
(With inputs from Agencies)
