When MS Dhoni was bullied in the dressing room by Yuvraj Singh

From rivals to great friends

It might seem like MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh have always been friends and played really well together in the Indian team, however, this was not always the case. The book launch of Yuvraj’s autobiography ‘The Test of My Life’, three years ago, made the two cricket stars sit down and talk to the press about the beginning of this friendship.

Dhoni, lead the team in all formats, whereas Yuvraj – who was once the vice-captain – could never become the captain of the team. Yuvraj entered the cricket scene in the year 2000, whereas Dhoni came into the spotlight in the year 2004 making him Yuvraj’s junior. Yuvraj’s father Yograj has criticised Dhoni and even blamed him for not giving Yuvraj the right opportunities in the national side.

Being a new and young player from Jharkhand, making the team for the first time, Dhoni had to face the bullying nature of his seniors, especially Yuvraj. The southpaw used to pull Dhoni's leg and call him ‘Bihari’ along with the other seniors in the team.

Even when Dhoni played one of the best games by scoring ODI hundreds against both Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Yuvraj would say that a match-winning innings when it matters was more important than hitting fours and sixes.

The young Ranchi star became one of the best game finishers in the country, this did not help either as by then Yuvraj had set a new standard for Dhoni by saying that it was the Test matches that showed a cricketer’s true worth. Dhoni soon had enough of this and told Yuvraj “That’s fine but tell me one thing, why are you always so angry.” A smiling Yuvraj ended the war between the two cricketers.

Even after Yuvraj's father went on a rant against Dhoni, the all-rounder took to Twitter to give his perspective on how he would be happy to continue playing under the leadership of Dhoni, thus clearing the air on any differences the two might have.