"Dhoni showed me the correct picture" - When an Indian white-ball legend opened up on being dropped from the team
Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh was a key member of the MS Dhoni-led squads that won the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup. In six matches during the T20 World Cup in South Africa, he scored 148 runs at an excellent strike rate of 194.73. He was the Player of the Tournament in the ODI World Cup at home for scoring 362 runs and claiming 15 wickets.
Yuvraj was, however, diagnosed with cancer in 2011 and had to spend some time away from the game. He returned to international in 2012 but was never the same player again even though he did show glimpses of brilliance. The left-handed batter was dropped from the Indian ODI team in June 2017 and never made a comeback to the international arena.
Speaking to Network18 in 2020, Yuvraj reflected on the last phase of his international career. He admitted that Virat Kohli backed him as captain, but also added that Dhoni had given him a clear picture of him not being in the scheme of things for the 2019 ODI World Cup. Yuvraj said (as quoted by ESPNcricinfo):
"When I made my comeback, Virat Kohli [the captain] supported me. Had he not backed me then I wouldn't have made a comeback. Obviously, I had performed in domestic cricket [for Punjab]. But then it was Dhoni who showed me the correct picture on the 2019 World Cup and that selectors are not looking at you.
"He showed me the real picture. He did whatever he could, but sometimes as captain, you can't justify for everyone. Captains worldwide have got stick, be it Sourav Ganguly or Ricky Ponting. Supporting or not supporting is individual choice. He [Dhoni] gave me clarity. Jitna unse ho saka unhone kiya [He did as much as he could]," the former all-rounder had added.
The southpaw was part of India's 2017 Champions Trophy squad and even won the Player of the Match for his 53 off 32 in the group match against Pakistan in Birmingham. However, he was axed from the team after failing to register a single half-century in his next six ODI innings.
Yuvraj Singh is in the list of Top 10 batters with most runs for India in ODIs
The former Punjab cricketer is currently at the eighth position in the list of batters with the most runs for India in ODIs. In 301 matches for the Men in Blue, the white-ball legend scored 8,609 runs at an average of 36.47 and a strike rate of 87.43, with 14 hundreds and 52 fifties. He also claimed over 100 wickets with his left-arm spin.
The 43-year-old also featured in 58 T20I matches, scoring 1,177 runs at a strike rate of 136.38 and claiming 28 scalps at an economy rate of 7.06. Yuvraj also played 40 Tests, 1,900 runs at an average of 33.92, with three tons.