"Why kick the guy when he's down?" - When Gautam Gambhir publicly backed Yuvraj Singh during IPL 2010
Former India player and current head coach Gautam Gambhir's strong opinions often make the headlines, whether it be constructive criticism or blown-out rants. He is also a figure who has the back of his colleagues, and it was evident when he came out in defense of Yuvraj Singh midway through the 2010 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Playing in the middle-order for the Kumar Sangakkara-led Kings XI Punjab outfit, Yuvraj started the campaign with three successive single-digit scores. He began the season with a clash against the Gautam Gambhir-led Delhi Daredevils, where he was dismissed for just four runs off five deliveries.
Midway through the season, with Punjab hovering at the bottom of the table, Yuvraj had only recorded 137 runs in eight matches at an average of 17.12. The poor form was reportedly attributed to the left-handed batter's alleged dispute with Sangakkara. Yuvraj had to respond on social media to refute such reports.
Amid the poor run of form, Yuvraj found a supporter in Gambhir. The Delhi Daredevils skipper hailed him as a match-winner and backed him to find his way out of the rut.
"You have got to show confidence in your cricketers, you have got to back them up when they are down. Yuvraj is an exceptional cricketer, and the match-winner right now in this country. He's always been the way he is, in form or out of it. He's had the same lifestyle, the same carefree, happy attitude to life in general. So why kick the guy when he's down?" Gambhir wrote in his column for the Hindustan Times (via ESPN Cricinfo).
Yuvraj Singh ended up having a forgettable IPL campaign, recording only 255 runs in 14 innings at an average of 21.25, and a strike rate of 128.14. This was followed by a forgettable 2010 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean. However, he turned around with impactful outings for India in ODIs, which led to the iconic 2011 ODI World Cup, where he was adjudged Player of the Tournament.
"This is the same Yuvraj who's single-handedly won matches for India" - Gautam Gambhir
Yuvraj Singh switched to the Pune Warriors India after the 2010 season, and was appointed as the captain of the franchise too. His career took a dark turn following the unfortunate cancer diagnosis, but he fought off the setback and returned to competitive cricket. He until 2019 before retiring across all forms of the game.
"This is the same Yuvraj who's single-handedly won matches for India. So yes, he's going through a lean patch, that doesn't make him any less of a fantastic player. Every person, whether it's Yuvraj, or you or me or anyone else, needs space and time to recoup, the freedom to be allowed to do that and the confidence that someone out there is standing by him," Gambhir added.
To this day, Gambhir believes that Yuvraj Singh is the greatest white-ball player that India have ever produced.