Former India teammate Robin Uthappa says Virat Kohli played an indirect role in Yuvraj Singh’s retirement following his battle with cancer
Former India teammate Robin Uthappa says Virat Kohli played an indirect role in Yuvraj Singh's retirement following his battle with cancer.
Yuvraj declared his retirement from international cricket in 2019, marking his final appearance in the IPL that same year.
Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa has indirectly suggested that Virat Kohli played a role in Yuvraj Singh’s international career being cut short after Yuvraj’s battle with cancer.
Uthappa claims that the then-India captain denied Yuvraj’s requests for specific fitness accommodations. Yuvraj, celebrated as one of India’s top players in limited-overs cricket, was instrumental in the team’s World Cup victories under MS Dhoni’s captaincy. However, following the 2011 ODI World Cup win, he was diagnosed with cancer and underwent treatment in the United States.
Yuvraj staged an impressive comeback, earning his place back in the Indian team and even notching a century against England in an ODI. However, following a subdued performance in the 2017 Champions Trophy, he was overlooked and ultimately chose to retire from cricket in 2019.
“Take Yuvi Pa’s instance. The man beat cancer, and he is trying to come back into the international side. Then for such a player, when you become captain, you say his lung capacity has diminished and you have been with him when you have seen him struggle. Nobody has told me this, I observe things. Yes, as a captain, you have to maintain a level of standard, but there are always exceptions to the rule. Here is a man who deserves to be an exception because he has not just beaten and won you tournaments, but he has beaten cancer,” said Uttappa in an interview on ‘Lallantop.
Robin Uthappa expressed his disapproval of Virat Kohli for not giving Yuvraj Singh enough opportunity to successfully return to the Indian team and for being rigid regarding fitness test criteria. He further revealed that Yuvraj had asked for a two-point reduction in the fitness test requirements, but Kohli declined the request.
“So when Yuvi requested for that two-point deduction, he didn’t get it. Then he did the test because he was outside the team and they weren’t taking him in. He passed the fitness test, came inside the team, had a lean tournament, took him out totally. Never entertained him after that. Whoever was in the leadership group, didn’t entertain him. That time Virat was the leader and it went according to him due to his strong personality, and that time it was according to him,” added Uthappa.
Uthappa described Kohli’s leadership approach as one that embodies a ‘my way or the highway’ mentality.
“I haven’t played under Virat as a captain very much. But Virat as a captain, he was very ‘my way or the highway’ kind of a captain. It’s not like these guys aren’t also like that, but how to treat your team, how you treat your personnel, because it is not just about results.”
