India vs England 2017: With MS Dhoni by his side, Yuvraj Singh posts Instagram video
What’s the story
Indian cricket’s most celebrated captain, MS Dhoni’s reign in Indian colours ended with a defeat to England in India A’s warm-up game against the tourists at the CCI in Mumbai. Post the match, Yuvraj Singh, Dhoni’s long time teammate, posted a video with the duo conversing about their respective careers and the mutual admiration for each other.
In case you didn’t know...
After enjoying a fruitful journey as Team India’s captain for close to ten years, MS Dhoni decided to hand over the reins to his prodigy, Virat Kohli, for all the three formats. The 35-year old had retired from the longest format in 2014, but had been captaining the ODI and T20I sides ever since he was surprisingly chosen as the captain for the 2007 World T20.
In his last match as captain in the Indian blue, Dhoni couldn’t end on the winning side, but gave glimpses of his destructive self by playing a whirlwind knock towards the end of India A’s innings, looting 23 runs of the last over to take the score past 300.
The heart of the matter
Yuvraj Singh, who has played countless memorable innings with MS Dhoni in the middle order, made a comeback to the ODI side for the England series, having last played an ODI in December 2013. Being part of the warm-up match, it meant that he managed to rekindle his friendship with his captain.
In a video posted on Instagram after the conclusion of the match, Yuvraj speaks about Dhoni’s captaincy, with the man himself by his side. A natural in front of the camera, Yuvraj waxes eloquent about the Jharkhand man, stating how he has been the best captain ever, and how amazing the journey has been, playing under him.
Dhoni speaks about his own ‘fantastic journey’, conceding how it is good to have players like Yuvraj, who make the job easier. He adds that he had enjoyed his ten years as captain, and will look forward to whatever he has left.
Yuvraj then speaks about Dhoni’s achievements, listing down the three major titles, including the World Cup and India being crowned No.1 in Tests. In turn, Dhoni thanks Yuvraj for the six sixes, joking that he managed to watch it from the best seats on the ground.
At the end of the video, Yuvraj asks Dhoni whether the world will see his former destructive self make a comeback and hit huge sixes, now that he is free from captaincy duties. A beaming Dhoni replies in typical fashion, saying that if the bowlers bowl in the right area and the situation demands, he will look to hit sixes.
What’s next
Yuvraj Singh is part of both the ODI and T20I squads for the England series, with the selectors reinstating faith on the southpaw after a string of solid performances at the domestic level. His inclusion was met with mixed responses, with several people questioning the inclusion of a 35-year old in a squad that is being moulded for the 2019 World Cup. Given his proven track record, it’ll be interesting to see if Yuvraj is a stop-gap solution for the imminent Champions Trophy, or gets a longer rope.
Sportskeeda’ take
Yuvraj’s comeback means that the seemingly inexperienced middle order will be bolstered. With Dhoni stepping down, he’ll hopefully have more freedom to play his natural game and take chances. The Yuvraj-Dhoni combination spells doom for the opponents, and the duo have assembled to give India many memorable wins. We look forward to watching them play together, in the same blithe manner that they used to, again.