Did not get captaincy for supporting my teammate: Yuvraj Singh reveals unspoken details about India team in Chappell era
India Today
Yuvraj was supposed to take up the captaincy role in 2007, but BCCI in a surprise call gave MS Dhoni the cap. Yuvraj Singh’s father time and again has sparked debate on the captaincy issue, and had sworn to unmask many in the Indian cricket.
Man of the series in India’s 2011 World Cup campaign Yuvraj Singh has made some explosive statements in the media regarding why he never became the Indian captain, despite being the most senior player in the team during the shift of power in the Indian cricket team.
Speaking to Sports18, Yuvraj argued that he was in line to be the next Indian captain but did not get the chance after supporting his teammate in the Chappell controversy. According to him, many in the Board of Control for Cricket in India did not take it kindly and ripped him out of the pecking order.He added that this was something that he heard and was not sure about the accuracy of the rumour.
“I was supposed to be the captain. Then the Greg Chappell incident happened. It had become Chappell or Sachin. I was probably the only player who supported that I support my teammate. Some of the BCCI officials did not like that. It was said that they should make anybody the captain but not myself. This is what I heard,” Yuvraj told Sanjay Manjrekar during an interview.
“I am not sure how true it is. Suddenly, I was removed from the vice-captaincy. Sehwag was not there in the team. So, out of nowhere, Mahi became captain for the 2007 T20 World Cup. I thought I was going to be the captain,” he added.
Yuvraj further said he is not fussed about not leading India as MS Dhoni did the job with brilliance.Yuvraj further said that he did not have any regrets about the matter and came to like Dhoni’s brand of captaincy in the time that followed.
“Viru (Virender Sehwag) was senior but he was not on the England tour. I was the vice-captain of the ODI team while Rahul (Dravid) was the captain. So, I was supposed to be the captain. Obviously, it was a decision that went against me but I have no regrets about it. Today, if the same thing happens, I will still support my teammates,” Yuvraj said.
The legendary left hander would go onto have some tremendous performances in the World Cups of 2007 and 2011 that would immortalise his legacy in the echelons of Indian cricket.
