MS Dhoni shelters Yuvraj Singh again

Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh (L) reacts after scoring a half century as his captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (R) looks on during the ICC World Twenty20 tournament Group 2 cricket match between Australia and India at The Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on March 30, 2014.

Bombarded with questions relating to Yuvraj Singh’s dismal performance in the finals of the T20 World Cup 2014 against Sri Lanka in the post-match press conference, MS Dhoni refused to place the blame on the 32-year-old, saying it could be just an one-off performance.

The Indian captain said: “It was an off day for Yuvraj. He tried his best but it’s not easy to come in and start slogging from ball one.”

When asked about what lies in wait for Yuvraj Singh in the future, Dhoni chose the easy way out by saying, “Indian cricket season is over, and now we have all domestic tournaments including the Indian Premier League. The next selection is far away so let’s not talk about it.”

Indian fans have been severely critical of that horror knock in microblogging sites. A section of irate fans went as far as pelting his Chandigarh residence with stones, requiring the city police to come to the rescue of his family.

When asked about the over-the-top reactions from Indian fans on Yuvraj’s knock, Dhoni said: “Look, you need to understand that fans can be angry but they can’t be more disappointed than the individual who is out there in the middle. As a player you don’t want to do badly in front of 40000 people. You don’t want to drop catches. But off days happen. And it can happen with any athlete. May be it was an off-day for him (Yuvraj).Fans will be disappointed but it is the player who is always more disappointed than the fans.”